Thursday, February 18, 2010
TV Land Adds Morning Marathons; ION Delays Emeril Lagasse Show
This means the current weekday 9am-1pm block of Leave it to Beaver, back-to-back Beverly Hillbillies, single All in the Family, back-to-back Sanford & Son and Hogan's Heroes are not airing in their normal slots for these two weeks (and beyond I bet). Stay with us for details.
And also of note, the Bewitched launch on Sunday (Feb. 28) has a time change now, it will be 11am-2pm instead. The series still joins the weekday schedule the next day (March 1) in the 5pm hour.
View the updated TV Land February 2010 schedule with these changes. And also view the updated TV Land March 2010 schedule with these changes. Look under the one-time-only adjustments section.
ION Television was set to launch The Emeril Lagasse Show on Sunday, March 28 airing Sundays at 8pm, but they just announced it has been delayed. We are not sure if the delay is only a week or a bit longer. Of course as soon as know, we will let you know. Whenever it launches, it will feature one of America's most popular chefs as he has never been seen before. Each week, Emeril will welcome celebrity guests, musicians and entertainers to break news and break bread as Emeril shares his world, his friends and his passions with the studio audience and viewers at home.
Instead on Sunday, March 28, ION will air back-to-back airings of the big screen movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) from 4pm-6:30pm and 6:30pm-9pm. The TV series Shark follows in its normal Sunday slots of 9pm and 10pm. An hour of M*A*S*H will kick off the block from 3-4pm. In other ION Television changes, they have added the premiere of the big screen movie Daredevil (2003) starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner for Saturday, March 27 at 7pm. The movie replaces an immediate encore of spin-off movie Elektra (2005) starring Jennifer Garner, which will remain airing at 5pm that night.
View the updated ION Television March 2010 schedule. Stay with us for updates on Emeril's new series. Bam!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Final Two [scrubs] Episodes to Air in March, CW Renews 5 Series; Nick at Nite Overnight Change Has More Urkel, Less Cosby
There is still no official word yet if and when the final two episodes of the season of Better off Ted will air or not. Maybe on Wednesday, March 24 and 31 at 8pm? We shall see. Stay with us! Will both series make it back next season? Or at least [scrubs]? We don't know yet, but stay tuned!
The CW has ordered five of their hits back for 2010-11! Freshman Hit The Vampire Diaries, dramas Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural and reality staple America’s Next Top Model will all return next season.
The CW Network has given early pickups to these five series for next season, which includes four signature dramas and the reality staple. All five shows will return in Fall 2010.
I'm quite surprised 90210 got an early pick-up since its ratings are lacking and it hasn't even returned yet from its long hiatus (3 months!). Veteran dramas Smallville and One Tree Hill are still on the bubble, while freshman Melrose Place is also on the bubble. It is too early for a pick-up of mid-season drama Life UneXpected, so the jury is still out on that. There has to be something not coming back next season. Could it be Melrose Place? Stay with us in the coming months for an answer to that. We will for sure know by May at the upfronts.
Nick at Nite made a minor schedule change on Monday night. They removed one of the hours for The Cosby Show. The series was airing every morning from 4-6am. Now it has been cut to just the 5am hour. Taking over the 4am hour will now more Family Matters. That series will still remain airing Sun-Thurs in the 3am hour and every morning in the 6am hour as well. Friday and Saturday nights in the 3am hour is an extra hour of Everybody Hates Chris.
View the updated Nick at Nite schedule. Stay with us for March highlights in the coming days!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
ION Adds M*A*S*H To Weekdays; ION Announces New Deals With Studios
ION also recently announced deals with various studios. Reflecting its continued commitment to the acquisition of high profile, 'positively entertaining' programming for its primetime schedule, ION Television has inked multiple deals to acquire close to 35 major feature films and television series. The deals are with leading Hollywood studios, including Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Distribution, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD).
The television series acquired from Twentieth Television include the critically acclaimed crime drama Shark (Seasons 1-2; 38 episodes), starring James Woods that we first announced would be coming, and Texas Justice (Seasons 1-4; 572 half-hour episodes) is also part of the deal.
ION Television acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the award-winning original TV series, The Guard from Lionsgate. In addition, the network secured all U.S. television, digital media rights, internet streaming and video-on-demand rights. The series premieres for the first time to the U.S. audience with a two-hour block of back-to-back episodes on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM, ET. Following its debut, The Guard will continue to air on ION Television in the same time two-hour period with back-to-back episodes each Saturday night, as we mentioned.
The Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Distribution package includes 15 film titles and features all three titles in The Godfather trilogy, starring Al Pacino, Death Wish and Death Wish IV: The Crackdown starring Charles Bronson and Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise.
ION has also acquired over a dozen releases from Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution, including top films such as The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones; GoodFellas, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci; and The Outlaw Josey Wales and Space Cowboys, both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
View the updated ION Television February 2010 schedule, with the addition of M*A*S*H to weekdays. And also check out the updated March 2010 schedule.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Blog DVD Review: Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume Two; Smurfs Marathon on Boomerang Today
Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume Two (CBS DVD, $35.98) brings us the final 13 episodes of the fourth season of the mega-hit ABC '80s series Dynasty on a 3-disc set! John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins continue to heat up the show as we continue the fourth season and get to the "nightmare" finale! This is the season where it reached its highest state thus far...it was #3 in the ratings for the entire fourth season. Seasons 3-6 all were in the time of the height of the popularity, with season five hitting number one. The series lasted 9 seasons on ABC, from 1981-89. We get the second half of the fourth season (1983-84) on this volume two set of the fourth season. Again, I don't understand why they are splitting the seasons in half. The show only had 27 episodes for season four...it's not like it was over 30 or 35. Anyway, the drama in Denver continues whether it is at the mansion or the LaMirage hotel.
Diahann Carroll joins the cast in the final two episodes of the season as the very mysterious Dominique Deveraux. Just who is she? We'll have to wait for more in season five to find out, but we get a little taste of her in the final two episodes here. Heather Locklear also returns in this second half of season four as Sammy Jo Carrington. She returns to Denver from New York to get custody of Danny in the final two episodes of the season. Michael Nader plays Farnsworth 'Dex' Dexter, Alexis' new suitor in this season. The final 13 episodes of the season begins with "Seizure," as Kirby is in poor health (that's all I will give away). We also get the three-part episode "The Voice," where so much happens that I won't give it away. And the final two episodes of the season are a must watch with Carroll joining the cast in "New Lady in Town," and the season finale "The Nightmare." Pamela Sue Martin (who plays Fallon Carrington-Colby) leaves the series after this episode. Just what will happen to Fallon as a result? We will have to wait and see in season five!
Packaging once again is a snap case holding three discs inside, similar to previous sets. Again the discs don't overlap each other, which is great. Discs one and two are in the white plastic little holder, while disc three is on the right panel of the case. That little holder is cheap, but I guess it works. The cover art of the case has a nice shot of Krystle, Blake and Alexis on the top, with the Dynasty logo below them along with the supporting cast which includes Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin). We have a nice purple style color scheme again for this volume, just like the first volume of season four. The back of the case has synopsis of the show, the set, and technical information. A nice shot of the cast and some episodic photos are also present. Back inside, there is a disc-by-disc breakdown on the left and right panel for every episode on this set. We get episode title, original airdate, and a long synopsis of each episode. Don't be reading it before watching the episode now! Artwork on the discs is just plain again. It is plain silver for each one. Dynasty logo and whatever disc number it is on the disc, and episode titles are listed. Disc one holds five episodes, while discs two & three hold four episodes each -- for a total of 13. There is nothing different about the packaging here. It is always consistent.
And the consistency continues for the menus. CBS DVD is terrible in menus, as you all know. Each menu has different artwork but it is so plain again. The episodes are listed right on the main menu once again. Set Up option is also available below the list of episodes. In Set Up, we can have English or Espanol languages and subtitles. Main menu artwork has three shots of the same image. Disc 1's main menu has three shots of Blake, disc two has three shots of Krystle, and disc three has three shots of Alexis. It is very similar to the first volume of season four. No theme music or any music in the background once again. Before the main menu on disc one, there is an option for previews...we get previews such as 90210 S1 DVD, CBS Home Entertainment series and Melrose Place S3 DVD. But you can skip to the main menu if you wish.
Each episode on this set is just around 47 minutes on average, with most of the episodes around 46:55. Nearly every CBS DVD has a disclaimer on the back of the box saying, "Some episodes maybe be edited from their original network versions." So there is a chance something could be edited, but I didn't see anything, as the runtimes were fairly consistent, lowest was 46:37 and highest was 46:58. There are 6 chapter stops each for every episode, counting the opening and closing credits stops. The video is on par with the previous season and it looks good. Just some debris here and there on the opening credits, like flashing black dots, but it is still good quality. The audio is decent, a nice sounding mono...that is crisp and clear. No problems here at all. In the episode where Sammy Jo returns from New York, she has a boom-box and it is playing an instrumental version of Michael Jackson's Thriller...nice to see that was kept intact!
We get no special features at all, just like the two season three volumes and the first volume of season four. The second season had a little family tree thing, which was something at least. We get nothing here. The first season was done by 20th Century Fox, and they did a decent job with some featurettes and commentaries, but CBS DVD is doing nothing...which is typical. How about promos like they do with The Love Boat (which is also Aaron Spelling)? I'm sure Heather Locklear (or the rest of the cast) would love to do interviews or commentaries for this set. If anything, give us archival stuff at least!
Season four is a wrap! Despite the splitting of the season again and no extras, I still highly do recommend any fan of the show to pick-up this set, because the episodes are so good and addictive. I cannot stop watching whenever I put the DVD in. This is the mother of all primetime soaps (sorry never was big into Dallas)! If you have the first three seasons (and volume one of season four), then you have to get this to continue your collection of course. If you haven't gotten those yet, what are you waiting for? It won't make sense buying this set for your first buy of this series, as the episodes are heavily serialized and you'll be so lost. One thing CBS DVD does well is that they work pretty fast with most of their releases, so you better hurry before the first half of season five comes out. I hope CBS reconsiders and gives us the ENTIRE fifth season instead of splitting it up into two volumes, but they won't. I've made it obvious already I don't like the splitting up the seasons into volumes, but CBS DVD seems to do that with a lot of their hour shows like The Love Boat, Perry Mason and so on. It is too bad, because it should only really be done if it is like over 35 episodes. I think they are just trying to get more money, come on $35.98 for 13 episodes and NO extras? Still, I urge fans to buy it so we keep getting more sets. CBS DVD is at least consistent with their sets. They are very predictable as the sets are nearly identical to each other (it makes the reviews boring). But like I said last time (and the time before that), complain to CBS DVD for the lack of extras and splitting the seasons in half. I'd buy all 27 season four episodes for say, $59.99. By splitting them, they are just tricking us in paying like $70 MSRP for a season. Then with two volumes for one season, we are wasting shelf space on our shelves. Sorry to keep complaining about it, but there isn't really anything new to say here as these sets are so boring. New episodes are about the only new thing here and I'm going to give away storylines to you all, especially if you are watching the show for the first time on these DVDs. But new episodes is what counts the most, right? Anyway, you're going to get it all in the fourth season finale as you might be as stunned as Alexis is. That's all I'll give away from the finale!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
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In 1981, a decidedly new cartoon debuted on NBC's Saturday morning lineup. Based on a 1957 Belgian comic strip, The Smurfs made television history following its premiere by becoming the highest-rated Saturday morning show in eight years, and the NBC's highest-rated animated series since 1970. Nearly 30 years later, the commercial-free Boomerang Network will celebrate this ground-breaking series with a 12-hour marathon on TODAY (Monday, Feb. 15), beginning at 8 a.m. (ET).
Kids enjoying a day off from school today will enjoy a special 12-hour presentation of one of the 1980's most popular cartoons ever to appear on broadcast television.
Highlights of the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. marathon include the following episodes:
* "Sir Hefty" - 8 a.m. (ET) - A giant fire-breathing dragon roams the forest, torching the trees as it passes. Hefty must fight the fires and defend Smurf Village. He leads the dragon away and is knighted "Sir Hefty Knight of the Smurf Table" by Papa Smurf.
* "Three Smurfketeers" - 1 p.m. (ET) - The Smurfs put on a play where Hefty, Jokey, and Greedy play the three musketeers, helping Clumsy Smurfingham win Smurfette Smurfington's hand in marriage.
* "The Haunted Castle" - 3:30 p.m. (ET) - Johan and Peewit, a young squire and his sidekick, join the Smurfs to help a ghost of a haunted castle find his rightful heir.
* "The Littlest Giant" - 6 p.m. (ET) - Papa Smurf helps a young runaway giant reunite with his own family.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week 21 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
(We don't have the final network averages through Thursday, but we do have final program averages through Thursday in the analysis below)
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 21 (Feb. 8-14) Analysis: For week 21, thus far through the first four nights it is a typical week, but the week will drastically change from Fri-Sun when the Winter Olympic ratings are added in. So far through the first four days of the week I can project, CBS and Fox are battling in HH/viewers with CBS having the edge, but Fox has the lead in 18-49 over CBS. ABC is a solid across the board, with NBC fourth in every category as usual (but that will change thanks to the Olympics). Last week, week 20, CBS took home first place in every category obviously thanks to the Super Bowl which did a TV record 106.48 million. Fox was a distant second in all categories. ABC was in third in all categories and NBC of course in fourth.
On Monday it was a three-way race again between CBS, ABC and Fox. CBS started with new episodes of its comedies and ended with a new CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 10.0 million for a new episode up some from previous week, while a new Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 9.1 million, also up from previous week, as it prepares a move to Wednesdays in March. Two and a Half Men followed with a new episode as well doing 17.66 million, up over a million from previous week for a season high, and The Big Bang Theory followed with a new episode of its own doing 16.26 million and it built from the lead-in in 18-49 from a 5.7 to a 6.0, to a series high in all categories. A new CSI: Miami at 10pm did 13.53 million, on par with previous week...so no big spike here. ABC keeps on growing with the The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love doing a solid 12.35 million, up once again from previous week and has gone up every week, and it also did a 4.1 18-49 rating for the two-hours, same as previous week. A new Castle was next and did a solid 9.54 million. Castle is in repeats the next few weeks, but even in repeats it is fun to watch again. Fox started off with an all-new House doing a 13.6 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, both up some from previous week. A new episode of 24 was next doing 10.27 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, both up some from previous week's season lows. NBC started off with a new Chuck at a decent 6.6 million, though off some from previous week and a 2.2 18-49 rating was also off some. Next Heroes finale did only 4.43 million and a 2.0 A18-49 rating, but both on par really from the previous week. Hopefully this was a series finale. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.31 million, up actually up some from previous week. The CW aired an all-new One Tree Hill doing a decent but could be better 2.17 million, but up a notch from previous week, followed by an all-new episode of Life UneXpected at 2.0 million, down a bit from previous week.
On Tuesday, Fox won but CBS did great as well and ABC and CBS had a lot to tell, too. Fox of course started with an all-new American Idol with 27.89 million, up three million from previous week as maybe it was helped by the first night with Ellen DeGeneres as a new judge. It did a mammoth 10.1 18-49 rating, up a whole point from previous week. Next a special preview of new series Past Life on a special night did only 8.32 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, losing a TON of the lead-in's audience...not a good start. CBS started with a new NCIS doing 19.75 million, up some from previous week. Then spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was next with a new showing of its own doing a way above average 17.91 million, up nearly two million from previous week. As I say with the parent series, how? And finally CBS aired a new episode of The Good Wife doing am above average 14.75 million, up two million week-to-week. ABC started off with a LOST enhanced encore doing a decent 4.81 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. Then an all-new episode of the final season of LOST was next with 11.05 million, down only a million from the big premiere and still did an excellent 5.0 18-49 rating, off from previous week's 5.5. There is nothing like this show on TV. What a show! ABC re-launched the forgotten at 10pm with Elisha Cuthbert joining the cast and did a so-so 5.92 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating...could be better. NBC was next with a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 8.89 million, off a bit from previous week when it aired 9-11pm. The Jay Leno Show FINALE was next and only did 5.64 million...good riddance to you Jay in primetime. The CW aired repeats of 90210 and Melrose Place doing only 849,000 and 717,000 viewers...but up some from previous week's repeats. Will they ever return with new episodes??? (I hear they will in March after a 3 month break.)
Wednesday it was Fox on top again. Fox started with Human Target at 8pm at just 8.91 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, up a million from previous week and a tenth in 18-49. Not bad, but could be better. American Idol was next at 9pm and it did 25.17 million, up about 4 million from previous week's lowest viewership since 2005! 18-49 rating was up from 7.8 to 9.5 as well. CBS started at 8pm with new episodes of its comedies Old Christine and Gary Unmarried doing 8.1 million and 7.5 million, but 18-49 rating was still low at 2.3 and 2.4 rating. Next CBS aired a new Criminal Minds at 14.33 million, down some from previous week and a new CSI: NY at 10pm did 12.98 million..down over a million from previous week. ABC comedies were next with a showing of A Charlie Brown Valentine at 8pm doing 7.19 million, followed by an all-new episode of The Middle doing a solid 7.83 million and a series best 2.9 18-49 rating, up again to best ever numbers. Modern Family was all-new at 9pm and did an excellent 9.84 million and an even more impressive 4.1 18-49 rating, up again even opposite Idol. Next Cougar Town was all-new and faced Idol for the second time and did 6.41 million, up slightly from previous week and the 18-49 rating was just off a bit doing a 2.7 18-49 rating. Ugly Betty was all-new and did 4.68 million, up from previous week. NBC was next with a new Mercy 6.78 million and only a 1.8 18-49 rating, but both up from previous week. Law & Order: SVU was a repeat again and only managed 4.4 million, but up a tad week-to-week. Another Law & Order: SVU repeat was next and did 5.29 million, possibly hurting CBS a bit. The CW aired more repeats as Life UneXpected did 1.55 million, up from previous week, and then a repeat of Gossip Girl followed and only did 613,000 viewers, bad but up some from previous week actually.
Thursday it was CBS and ABC battling. CBS opened with the two-hour season premiere of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains doing an impressive 14.15 million and 4.5 18-49 rating. CSI was preempted but will return with new episodes in March, repeats will air the next two weeks. At 10pm The Mentalist was new and did a better than usual 15.86 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, both up week-to-week. ABC started off with week four of The Deep End at 5.7 million, up from previous week as it stopped the bleeding, and the 18-49 rating went from a 1.3 to 1.5. A new episode of Grey's Anatomy was next and perked up to 12.74 million, up some from previous week but a 4.4 18-49 rating is still below normal. A new Private Practice was next doing 9.04 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, both off a bit from previous week. Fox had a repeat of Bones doing 8.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, that is decent. A new Past Life on its normal night did only 5.31 million, down from even what Fringe does normally. Only a 1.4 18-49 rating, too. NBC had new showings of its comedies with Community doing an OK 5.15 million, off a bit week-to-week, Parks & Recreation was next and did a slightly improved 4.98 million, The Office was next with doing 7.44 million and a below normal 3.7 18-49 rating, and finally a new 30 Rock was next doing 6.0 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating. Two repeats of The Office closed the night with only 3.35 and 2.78 million, lower than Leno even. The CW aired a new Vampire Diaries at a solid 3.51 million, but down some from previous week, and Supernatural was new and did 2.51 million, up from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but NBC won Friday with big numbers for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, as the other networks aired repeats.
Saturday numbers saw NBC win the night of course with more Winter Olympics coverage opposite repeats.
Tonight it is more Winter Olympics coverage for NBC that should help them win the night. ABC's regular line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are not all on, but we get two-hour episodes of the unscripted half of the night. CBS has the season premiere of The Amazing Race, followed by the timeslot premiere of Undercover Boss. I hope that mess bombs as it is so fake (come on a camera crew following a "newbie?"). Fox has new episodes of their animated comedies and new episodes of 'Til Death. Winter Olympics gets a big test tonight as everything is all-new opposite it tonight. NBC should win the week in all categories because of the Winter Olympics...three nights should be enough from going 4th to 1st. If not, NBC needs to call it quits. CBS will be second across the board likely, with Fox in third and ABC in fourth across the board. As for this coming week, look for the more Winter Olympics on NBC causing lots of repeats on other nets, but there will be plenty of new airings of series such as LOST, Grey's Anatomy, and American Idol opposite it!
Week 21 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 20-- Feb. 1-7)
- 'Til Death (Fox) 2 episodes - The series aired new episodes opposite the Super Bowl and did 1.58 and 1.85 million, down some from previous week.
- ABC Comedy Wednesday repeats (ABC) - ABC aired special repeats of their Comedy Wednesday comedies. Modern Family started it off with 2.84 million, followed by The Middle at only 2.3 million, more Modern Family did 2.49 million, a Cougar Town repeat at 9:30pm perked up to 2.59 million, as the Super Bowl winded down by then. And finally two more repeats of Modern Family in the 10pm hour did decent doing 3.87 and 3.53 million.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did only 2.91 million opposite the Super Bowl.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Just 2.46 million for a repeat.
- Family Guy (Fox) - 3.07 million for a repeat, best of the bunch.
- American Dad (Fox) - 3.05 million for a repeat, must have been seen a spike in the ratings when the Super Bowl ended at around 9:45.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - An all-new episode did 10.0 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Maybe Super Bowl the night before helped.
- Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 9.1 million for a new episode, also up from previous week. This was its last new airing in this slot, as the series will move to Wednesdays at 8:30pm n March.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 17.66 million for a new episode and a great 5.7 18-49 rating...up a ton from previous week. Super Bowl effect?
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 16.26 million for a new episode and a scripted series best 6.0 18-49 rating. Just wow. Nothing more to say. Series highs again. Sheldon invaded the Super Bowl well I guess.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- None.
- Old Christine (CBS) - 8.1 million for a new episode is decent, but still only a 2.3 18-49 rating.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 7.5 million for a new episode, losing some of the audience from its lead-in, but did build a bit in 18-49 from a 2.3 to 2.4 rating. ABC's competing comedy won the half-hour in both measures.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new airing at 8:30pm following A Charlie Brown Valentine did a solid 7.83 million and a series best 2.9 18-49 rating. Keeps on growing still!
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode 9pm airing was opposite Idol for the third time ever thus far and once again it did very well doing 9.84 million and an impressive 4.1 18-49 rating. Great episode!
- Cougar Town (ABC) - It faced Idol for the second time and it did OK but below normal again. It did 6.41 million, up some from previous week but the 18-49 rating went down a notch from 2.9 to 2.7.
Thursday Sitcoms
- Community (NBC) - A new episode did 5.15 million and an OK 2.3 18-49 rating, on par week-to-week.
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - Only 4.98 million for a new episode, but held 100% of its lead-in's 18-49 rating for the second straight week.
- The Office (NBC) 3 airings - A new episode did 7.44 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating...both below normal again, but still solid -- especially for NBC. Two repeats in the 10pm hour did terrible only 3.35 and 2.78 million.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode did 6.0 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating. Viewership was up some but 18-49 was down a notch from previous week.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are new episodes of 'Til Death at 7 on Fox followed by repeats of the Fox animated comedies starting at 8.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, The Middle were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Gary Unmarried, Community) or just plain old terrible (such as 'Til Death from Sun, The Office Thurs 10pm repeats).
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Blog DVD Review: Hunter - The Complete First Season
Hunter - The Complete First Season (Mill Creek, $14.99) brings all 19 episodes of the hit action detective series from the 80s to DVD...again. The series stars Fred Dryer as LAPD detective Rick Hunter, a renegade cop who is always willing to break the rules and use unorthodox methods to bust the bad guys. He comes from a family connected to the mob, but that doesn't stop him from doing his job at all. His partner, Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) is somewhat more level headed, though she still makes the perfect match for Hunter both on the beat and (seemingly) romantically. The series premiered in 1984 on NBC and struggled to make it through just one season, but eventually became a hit for NBC and continued for a total of seven seasons. This is the second time that the first season has been released on DVD; it was previously released by Anchor Bay, and now, Mill Creek Entertainment is releasing it again as a value priced selection.
The first season of the series is perhaps one of the darker and grittier seasons of the series, with tons of violence and the characters never being afraid to kill a suspect if they felt a need to do so. The first season also used a lot of music, similar to the series Miami Vice (which it initially was paired with on the NBC lineup). Unfortunately, the music is missing in this set, and as far as I can tell, it seems that all of the original music within the episodes has been replaced. This is sadly a common practice among series produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions released on DVD, and there isn't really anything that any fan can do about it, it seems. The news about the music replacements gets worse, though. The choices for the music replacement in the scenes are awful, including one episode where there is a song that sounds identical to a hit song by the musician Aaliyah and another episode where there is a song that sounds like something on a modern country music radio station. These songs (and others in the DVD set) are not really fitting for a series that takes place in the 80s.
The series begins with the double length "Pilot," where Joanna Kerns plays a psychiatrist who is evaluating another psychiatrist (played by Brian Dennehy), but the relationship may be on the verge of turning lethal unless Hunter and McCall prevent it. In "The Hot Grounder," the police commissioner's wife is killed and the chief is the prime suspect--but Hunter is determined to clear the chief by any means possible. Hunter and McCall have to deal with a corrupt small town sheriff in "A Long Way From L.A." Hunter spends some time behind bars and is a murder suspect when a suspect that he had contempt for ends up being shot with his gun in "Pen Pals." Hunter and McCall deal with a bounty hunter who is taking things way too far with his catches in "Dead or Alive."
Ed O'Neill plays a parole officer who really has gone crazy and may even be a murderer in "The Garbage Man." A cocaine dealer is being extradited from New York City in the two-part episode "The Snow Queen," but somehow escapes along the way. Sometimes the drug dealers are the victims, as seen in "The Beach Boy," where suppliers are retaliating against drug dealers refusing to deal with them. Hunter and McCall (as usual) violate their orders to investigate some muggings and investigate a homicide on their own in "Guilty." Hunter and McCall investigate a series of murders with a pattern in "The Last Kill." In "Fire Man," a TV news crew just keeps getting in the way of an investigation by Hunter and McCall.
The menus are very basic, but also nicely done, with the theme song playing on the main menu and options of Play All and Episode Select. The main menu has the same snapshot of Hunter as seen on the cover, but with a different background. When you go to Episode Select, it takes you to a menu that lists all of the episodes, where the theme song continues to play. There are no scene selection menus, but chapters are placed appropriately throughout each episode.
The set comes in the same type of packaging as many other series from Mill Creek, and that isn't a good thing. Basically, it has a double thick keep-case with four black paper sleeves inside. Paper sleeves have to be about the worst way ever to package a DVD set, and I have no clue why they insist upon doing this. The cover art has a shot of Hunter with the Los Angeles skyline in his background, and the back of the case has several snapshots from the episodes as well as basic series information. The disc artwork is the same on each disc, with a photo of Hunter and McCall. Each disc has the episode titles contained on the disc printed on the disc. There are no other episode lists contained within the set. Disc 1 contains four episodes (including the double length pilot), while each of the other discs contain five episodes.
Even though all of the music within the episodes has been replaced, it appears that other than that, the episodes are largely unedited, although one episode (part 1 of "Snow Queen") seems suspicious, running at 44:10. Runtimes are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. "Pilot" (95:46)
2. "Hard Contact" (48:32)
3. "The Hot Grounder" (48:03)
4. "A Long Way From L.A." (46:57)
Disc 2:
5. "Legacy" (45:42)
6. "Flight on a Dead Pigeon" (47:07)
7. "Pen Pals" (49:54)
8. "Dead or Alive" (47:42)
9. "High Bleacher Man" (46:10)
Disc 3:
10. "The Shooter" (46:44)
11. "The Garbage Man" (48:04)
12. "The Avenging Angel" (48:18)
13. "The Snow Queen, Part 1" (44:10)
14. "The Snow Queen, Part 2" (47:56)
Disc 4:
15. "The Beach Boy" (46:38)
16. "Guilty" (47:20)
17. "The Last Kill" (48:14)
18. "Fire Man" (48:50)
19. "Sniper" (48:24)
There are no special features on the set, and honestly, at $14.99, I wouldn't really expect to see any.
Despite the problems with this set, it isn't a bad deal at all for the entertainment that you get from the series. I wouldn't pay $40 or $50 for a set with as many problems as this one, but the price on this one is appropriate for what you are getting--mostly complete episodes with all of the music in the episodes replaced. It really would be nice to see something besides the paper sleeves used for the packaging next time, though. If you can't wait to see the second season, you don't even have to wait. As I recently discovered, Target is already selling the second season in a double pack with the first season at their stores nationwide, at the same price as one season. So there are definitely good deals to be found for this show on DVD, and the only thing that may stop some fans is the extensive music replacement. I honestly think that the series is enjoyable enough that many people can get past it, especially at the value of the set.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(3/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Friday, February 12, 2010
TV One March 2010 Highlights; Yes More Hallmark Channel Changes
As of now, there are no schedule changes to the regular line-up. We are told, though that they will be airing The Flip Wilson Show, Richard Pryor Show, and What's Happening!! as regulars sometime this year, so stay with us for that! All three of those shows have premiered this month as part of their Black History month special. Richard Pryor Show only has 5 episodes, so it will likely not air regularly, but maybe will be repeated a few times in the near future. They do have rights to air all three beyond this month, though, so that is good! Anyway, back to March 2010, there are plenty of marathons scheduled. On Sunday March, 7 beginning at 12pm Noon, join the Sutton family for an all-day marathon of season 2 of the popular African American drama series Lincoln Heights. The marathon runs through 10pm and then repeats until 5am.
On Saturday, March 13 beginning at 12 Noon, it's a 'Winter Wedding Wonderland' as TV One presents an all-day sitcom marathon featuring wedding episodes of viewer favorite comedies Amen, Living Single, For Your Love, The Hughleys, Martin, Good Times, A Different World, Sanford & Son, and The Jeffersons. The marathon runs all day and all night through 6am with repeats in the late night.
On Saturday, April 3 beginning at 3pm, it's all the way LisaRaye as TV One presents the "All of Us: All Day LisaRaye" Marathon featuring episodes of the family sitcom focusing on LisaRaye's character Neesee and her plight to find love and happiness while raising her son. The marathon runs through 6am with encores in the late night.
We have yet more Hallmark Channel schedule changes for you. This is our third story on changes for the network this week alone! Beginning Wednesday, February 17 the primetime Hallmark Movie has been moved up from 9pm to 8pm. As a result, starting Wednesday, Feb. 17, Touched By An Angel's 8pm airing will move to 10p. And 7th Heaven will run for an additional hour at 7pm replacing an episode of Touched by An Angel. So, 7th Heaven is airing now in early evenings from 5pm-8pm (and afternoons 12-2pm).
It is very hard to keep track of this network. It is best you click on the label below for Hallmark Channel so you don't miss any schedule changes news on this network. I mean three stories in one week on schedule changes? That is a lot! And we had some last week as well, so it is a lot and you don't want to miss anything! It's like a serialized series. "Previously on Hallmark Channel Schedule Changes..."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Hallmark Adds Another I Love Lucy Marathon, More Changes; Spike TV Gets Original Comedy, Moves Entourage
For now, view the episode info for the Hallmark Channel President's Day Marathon for I Love Lucy!
Spike TV expands its comedic slate with Players, a series created by and starring one of the founders of the acclaimed improvisational comedy troupe, the Upright Citizens Brigade, Matt Walsh. Players follows two brothers (Walsh and Ian Roberts) with conflicting personalities trying to run a successful sports bar. Spike TV's new original half-hour comedy premieres Tuesday, March 2 at 10:30 PM, ET/PT. 10 episodes have been ordered. The series will air after the original comedy Blue Mountain State. That series is a hilarious football-centric comedy that follows three incoming freshman in a big-time, mid-western college football program.
Players stars Walsh as Bruce Fitzgerald, a free-spirited, fun-loving, guy's guy who is living out his fantasy of owning a sports bar that allows him to bet on games, drink for free and date the cocktail waitresses. His older, uptight brother, Ken (Ian Roberts), tries to keep the focus on turning a profit while avoiding lawsuits and health code violations. The series also features Krista (Danielle Schneider), the promiscuous waitress who has an affinity for B-list athletes and married men, Barb (June Diane Raphael), the insecure and neurotic waitress who falls in love with Bruce, Hickey (Jack McGee), a retired cop who got Bruce out of a gambling debt and was rewarded with a job where, instead of actually working, he spends most of his time bidding on sports memorabilia on eBay, and Calvin (James Pumphrey), the young, simple-minded bartender who lives in the store room and is an aspiring sports model who idolizes Bruce.
In other Spike TV news, reruns of HBO's Entourage has moved from Tuesday to Sundays from 10pm-12am. It seems it wasn't doing too well in the ratings.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Step by Step Leaving ABC Family After 9 Years; ABC Family March 2010
Elsewhere on ABC Family March 2010, there are no regular schedule changes to the regular schedule. The season finale of Make It or Break It airs Monday, March 8, 2010 at 9pm. The following week on March 15 at 9pm, there will be an all-new special on The Secret Life of the American Teenager following an all-new episode at 8pm. Then on Monday, March 22, catch up with a marathon of The Secret Life of the American Teenager from 11am-8pm leading into the season finale at 8pm. At 9pm on March 22, ABC Family will air a special episode presentation of its original sitcom 10 Things I Hate About You. Then finally on Monday, March 29, catch-up with a marathon of 10 Things I Hate About You from 3pm-8pm leading into the season premiere at 8pm. An encore of the season premiere immediately follows at 8:30pm. Then at 9pm an encore of the Greek pilot airs at 9pm followed by the all-new season finale at 10pm. It will be interesting what will air with 10 Things I Hate About You on Mondays starting in April, since as of now 10 Things is the only original left with new episodes. Stay tuned for news on that!
Movie wise, original movie The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice will premiere on Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 8pm following a marathon of previous Cutting Edge movies (The Cutting Edge, The Cutting Edge 2: Going for the Golf, and The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream). On Sunday, March 21 at 8pm, ABC Family has the basic cable premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It has its network television premiere on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 27. Other movies airing on ABC Family in March include Happy Feet, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and many more.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
ION Television March 2010, Acquires Shark, The Guard and New Series With Emeril; CW Adds New Series, NBC 2010 Finales
We announced last month that My Name is Earl has been added to ION as a weekend filler starting this month, but now starting in March it will have a regular slot...but still on Saturdays. It will air Saturdays at 4:00pm & 4:30pm starting March 6 following an hour of M*A*S*H at 3:00pm which returns to the schedule as a regular...but on Saturdays only.
There are no changes to weekdays, but we have some more weekend news! ION has acquired the rights to Canadian drama The Guard. It will air Saturdays at 9pm and 10pm ET/PT starting Saturday, March 13, 2010. The Guard is a Canadian drama television series portraying the life of the Canadian Coast Guard along the British Columbia Coast. The series thus far has aired for two seasons in Canada with 22 total episodes.
And coming later in March to Sundays, is ION's first original unscripted series. The Emeril Lagasse Show, a new weekly, entertainment television show featuring celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, as we previously announced. The original, primetime series will be recorded before a live studio audience and will capture Emeril's passion for people, entertainment, music, food and celebration. The hour long program will air on Sundays at 8pm beginning Sunday, March 28, 2010.
Movie wise, ION will continue to deliver big name movies including the premieres of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Elektra. Other movies airing this month are Top Gun, Lethal Weapon, Around the Bend, Deep Blue Sea, and The Clearing.
View and discuss ION Television March 2010 schedule.
The CW has announced the premiere of two new half-hour reality series in March -- the socialite-filled High Society and the jet-setting Fly Girls. Following a special 90-minute premiere of America's Next Top Model on its new premiere date of Wednesday, March 10 (instead of March 3) from 8:00-9:30 p.m. ET, High Society will debut in the 9:30 p.m. ET half-hour. The same schedule will air on Wednesday, March 17, with an additional 90-minute episode of Top Model, followed by episode two of High Society.
Then Fly Girls will prepare for take-off on Wednesday, March 24, when the regular schedule will be as follows: America's Next Top Model at 8:00 p.m. ET, High Society at 9:00 p.m. ET and the debut of Fly Girls at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Wednesday schedule will encore on Fridays (March 12, 19, 26) until Smallville returns April 2 (Top Model will still encore Fridays, but at its normal 9pm slot starting April 2).
View more on these two new series.
NBC has announced most of its season finale dates. NBC season finales include (all times ET): Trauma on Monday, May 10 at 9 p.m.; Mercy on Wednesday, May 12 at 8 p.m.); and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Wednesday, May 19 at 10 p.m.
Also among NBC's season finales are all of the Thursday night comedies, including: Community on Thursday, May 20 at 8:00 p.m.; Parks and Recreation" on Thursday, May 20 at 8:30 p.m.; The Office on Thursday, May 20 at 9:00 p.m.; 30 Rock on Thursday, May 20 at 9:30 p.m.
Then finally, The Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday, May 23 from 9-11 p.m.; Chuck on Monday, May 24 with a two-hour finale from 8-10 p.m.; Law & Order on Monday, May 24 at 10:00 p.m.; and The Biggest Loser on Tuesday, May 25 from 8-10 p.m.
Besides the upcoming mid-season series such as The Marriage Ref and Minute to Win It, this is pretty much all the finale dates for NBC.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Minor WGN America Retro Night Changes, More Cosby Show; Tad More Hallmark Channel Sked Changes
So, if you're confused, here is how Sunday nights will look now: 6pm ET Becker, 7pm ET The Cosby Show, 8pm ET Newhart, 9pm ET Barney Miller, 10pm ET News, 11pm ET Cheers, 12am ET Becker, 1am ET Barney Miller, 2am ET The Cosby Show, and 3am ET more The Cosby Show.
As usual, stay with us for any further WGN America updates!
It was just last week when we told you about the tons of schedule changes to Hallmark Channel, now a little bit more are happening! Beginning tonight (Monday, February 8, 2010) Monday-Thursday from 9-11pm will now be a movie instead of Touched By An Angel, but Touched will still air at 8pm and also gain the 7pm hour replacing one of the three 7th Heaven hours starting tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010). 7th Heaven will remain at 5pm and 6pm. Everything else is the same as we relayed last week.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Week 20 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
(We don't have the final network averages through Thursday, but we do have final program averages through Thursday in the analysis below)
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 20 (Feb. 1-7) Analysis: For week 20, American Idol is helping Fox with the lead but CBS will prevail obviously big this week thanks to the Super Bowl tonight. So far through the first four days of the week I can project, CBS and Fox are battling in HH/viewers but Fox has the lead in 18-49. ABC is in second in 18-49, followed by CBS. ABC is third in HH/viewers, with NBC fourth in every category as usual. Last week, week 19, CBS took home first place in HH/viewers, over second place Fox thanks to a high rated Grammy Awards showing. Fox did edge CBS in 18-49, though. ABC was in third in all categories and NBC of course in fourth.
On Monday it was a three-way race between CBS, ABC and Fox. CBS started with new episodes of its comedies and ended with a new CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 9.28 million for a new episode but lower than its last new outing, while a new Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 8.43 million, but the question is will it be able to do anything close to this on Wednesdays? Two and a Half Men followed with a new episode as well doing 16.51 million, what more can you say, and The Big Bang Theory followed with a new episode of its own doing 15.51 million and it built from the lead-in in 18-49 from a 5.1 to a 5.4. A new CSI: Miami at 10pm did 13.44 million. ABC keeps on growing with the The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love doing a solid 11.73 million, up once again from previous week and has gone up every week, and it also did a 4.1 18-49 rating for the two-hours, also up a bit from previous week. A repeat of Castle was next and did a solid 7.97 million, its best ever repeat numbers. Castle is all-new tomorrow with a baseball-themed episode guest starring Joe Torre! Joe "Freaking Torre! Fox started off with an all-new House doing a 13.38 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, both down from previous week when it had less competition. A new episode of 24 was next doing 9.96 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, both off from previous week and season lows. NBC started off with a new Chuck at a decent 6.73 million, off some from previous week and a 2.4 18-49 rating was also off a tad. Next Heroes did only 4.42 million and a 2.0 A18-49 rating, but both up a tick from the previous week. Series finale tomorrow? The Jay Leno Show followed with only 3.82 million, down from previous week. The CW aired an all-new One Tree Hill doing a decent but could be better 2.14 million, followed by an all-new episode of Life UneXpected at 2.07 million, both down a bit from previous week.
On Tuesday, Fox won but CBS and ABC did great as well. Fox of course started with an all-new American Idol with 24.71 million, up some from previous week. 9.0 18-49 rating is still great. Next a special new episode of Kitchen Nightmares on a special night did an OK 9.0 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, losing a ton of the lead-in's audience. CBS started with a new NCIS doing 19.23 million, down a million from previous week but 18-49 rating was actually up. Then spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was next with a new showing of its own doing 16.42 million, off some from previous week. And finally CBS aired a new episode of The Good Wife doing a solid 12.81 million, but below normal a bit. ABC started off with a LOST recap narrated by Michael Emerson doing an excellent 9.96 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating. Then the final season premiere of LOST was next with a two-hour episode doing 12.09 million and an excellent 5.5 18-49 rating, better than any other scripted series this week. What a premiere it was! Cannot wait until this week! ABC will return the forgotten this Tuesday at 10pm as Elisha Cuthbert joins the cast. NBC was next with a repeat of The Biggest Loser doing 4.73 million, followed by the regular all-new episode at a special time of 9-11pm doing 9.48 million, off a bit from previous week when it aired 8-10pm. The Jay Leno Show was preempted, but NBC was down from previous week even with no Leno. The CW aired repeats of 90210 and Melrose Place doing only 810,000 and 610,000 viewers...down from previous week's repeats. Will they ever return with new episodes?
Wednesday it was Fox on top again but way lower than usual. Fox started with Human Target on its new time of 8pm at just 7.8 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating. American Idol is now at 9pm and it did 21.0 million, down about 5 million from previous week and its lowest viewership since 2005! It did a below normal 7.8 18-49 rating as well. CBS did much better than usual at 8pm as Old Christine and Gary Unmarried were preempted for the 2010 edition of Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials doing a first place 10.99 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating. Next CBS aired a new Criminal Minds at 14.75 million and a new CSI: NY at 10pm did 14.16 million..as this has become the highest rated CSI series of late. ABC comedies were next with a repeat of Modern Family at 8pm doing 6.84 million, its best repeat numbers yet, followed by an all-new episode of The Middle doing a solid 7.32 million and a series best 2.7 18-49 rating. Modern Family was all-new at 9pm and did a solid 9.19 million and an even more impressive 3.9 18-49 rating, even opposite Idol. Next Cougar Town was all-new and faced Idol for the very first time and suffered a bit doing 6.26 million but the 18-49 rating was just off a bit doing a 2.9 18-49 rating. Ugly Betty was all-new and did only 4.03 million. It should perk a bit up soon especially closer to the finale. NBC was next with a new Mercy 6.21 million and only a 1.6 18-49 rating. Law & Order: SVU was a repeat again and only managed 4.15 million and an embarrassing 0.9 18-49 rating. The Jay Leno Show was next and did only slightly better than that doing 4.18 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating. The CW aired more repeats as Life UneXpected went back to 8pm doing 1.34 million, on par from previous week when it aired at 9pm and then a repeat of Gossip Girl followed and only did 468,000 viewers, lower than previous week when it was at 8pm.
Thursday it was CBS and ABC starting sweeps on top, but Fox was not too bad. CBS opened with a Surviving Survivor special doing a decent 8.11 million and 2.4 18-49 rating. A new CSI followed with 14.49 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating. At 10pm The Mentalist was also new and did a better 14.68 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. ABC started off with week three of The Deep End at 5.09 million, down a million from previous week again, and this time the 18-49 rating went down, too, from 1.8 to previous two weeks to a 1.3 for week three. That's not good. A new episode of Grey's Anatomy was next and perked up to 12.55 million and a 4.5 18-49 rating, but below normal. A new Private Practice was next doing 9.25 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, also off a bit from normal. Fox had a new Bones doing a season high again at 12.37 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, though that was down some from previous week. A new Fringe did 7.4 million, down well over a million from previous week, as previous week there was nothing else new on in that hour on the big three. NBC had new showings of its comedies with Community doing an OK 5.23 million, Parks & Recreation was next and did a slightly improved 4.88 million, The Office was next with doing 7.37 million and a below normal 3.8 18-49 rating, and finally a new 30 Rock was next doing 5.79 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 3.91 million, off some from previous week again as viewers keep tuning out as the show gets closer to ending. The CW aired a new Vampire Diaries at a solid 3.99 million, up some with previous week, and Supernatural was new and did 2.28 million, off again from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but CBS won Friday with their dramas, while ABC did well with 20/20 at 10 again. A new Kitchen Nightmares at 9pm on Fox perked up sharply from previous week's season premiere.
Saturday numbers saw Fox win the night with NASCAR instead of its usual reality crime series.
Tonight it is Super Bowl Sunday, so look for CBS to easily win. The safest bet of the year. ABC's regular line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are obviously not new, and instead we get a special dose of Comedy Wednesday repeats on Super Comedy Sunday from 8-11pm. NBC has The Biggest Loser in repeats on all four hours. Fox has repeats of their animated comedies and new episodes of 'Til Death. CBS will win the week in all categories of course and why wouldn't they with something doing 100 million tonight? Fox will be second across the board likely, with ABC in third and NBC in fourth across the board. As for this coming week, look for the first full week of February 2010 sweep but then the Winter Olympics start on Friday and most programs will be in repeats...but not all!
Week 20 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 19-- Jan. 25-31)
- 'Til Death (Fox) 2 episodes - The series returned with all-new episodes at an anemic 2.09 and 2.43 million.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A below normal 4.95 million opposite the Grammy's. 18-49 was only a 2.4 rating even.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Just 4.5 million for an all-new episode.
- Family Guy (Fox) - 6.19 million is the best of the block, but below normal vs. the Grammy's.
- American Dad (Fox) - The second highest rated show of the block, but thanks to its lead-in of course. 5.06 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - An all-new episode did 9.28 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, decent... but down from its previous new outing two weeks back.
- Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 8.42 million for a new episode. The retention was getting better up until this night.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 16.51 million for a new episode and a great 5.1 18-49 rating.
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 15.51 million for a new episode and a sitcom best 5.4 18-49 rating. That 5.4 rating might be second best for the week in scripted series behind LOST.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- None.
- Old Christine (CBS) - preempted.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new airing at 8:30pm following a repeat of Modern Family did a solid 7.23 million and a series best 2.7 18-49 rating. Keeps on growing!
- Modern Family (ABC) 2 episodes - A repeat at 8pm did 6.84 million, up from previous week's repeat and the best ever repeat numbers for this series! What a hit! Regular 9pm airing was opposite Idol for the second time ever thus far and it held up well doing way better than the first time at 9.19 million and a solid 3.9 18-49 rating.
- Cougar Town (ABC) - It faced Idol for the very first time and it did OK but below normal of course. It did 6.26 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating...and still better than 30 Rock on NBC on Thursdays.
Thursday Sitcoms
- Community (NBC) - A new episode did an improved 5.23 million and an OK 2.3 18-49 rating.
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - Only 4.88 million for a new episode, but held 100% of its leas-in's 18-49 rating.
- The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 7.37 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating...both below normal, but solid.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode did a less than stellar 5.79 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating. Should be better.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are new episodes of 'Til Death at 7 on Fox followed by repeats of the Fox animated comedies starting at 8. Also tonight ABC will air a special edition of Comedy Wednesday on Super Comedy Sunday from 8-11pm with encores of its hit comedies!
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, The Middle were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as 30 Rock, Cougar Town) or just plain old terrible (such as 'Til Death from Sun).
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Blog DVD Review: JAG - The Final Season (Feb. 9)
JAG - The Final Season (CBS, $55.98) is coming to DVD with its final season onto DVD this Tuesday (February 9, 2010). With this set the long running Donald Bellisario classic has finally completed its run on DVD, and the show goes out first with a whimper, but then finally a bang.
In the interest of full disclosure, I had long since stopped watching the show by this point. Really, everything between the 8th season's NCIS pilot and this season's series finale is all a blur to me as I've only seen the occasional episode in reruns. Nonetheless I did follow the general goings on of the show, so I know enough to know I probably wouldn't have liked the show anyway. The focus of the show really began to move away from the classic characters in earnest for most of the season, with more and more emphasis being placed on new characters.
Indeed, had the series been picked up for an eleventh season it's likely the show would have been completely retooled around the younger characters and many of the older ones would have been written out. Indeed, then, CBS' cancellation of the show after 10 seasons was, if anything, a mercy-killing. It also allowed the show to wrap up properly before wandering into the ether. Ultimately, the show ended with Harm and Mac being assigned to separate stations. They decide to get married, and flip a coin to decide who will give up their career to join the other at their new posting. The episode ends on the coin flip, with the answer left deliberately unresolved. Some fans may have preferred a bit more finality, but oh well.
The packaging wrapping on this set on DVD also means we're approaching the end of an era on the technical side of things. Along with sister-series NCIS, JAG was one of the last TV DVD sets to be packaging in traditional slim cases instead of the now-semi-standard thick plastic case packaging. I like slim cases so it's slightly sad to see their use among publishers wane and decline, but that's the nature of the business. Package art features Harm & Mac on the cover and the same patriotic theme as the other DVD sets. Discs are your usual silver with the show logo being slightly debossed and showing the actual disc surface.
Menus are pretty much just, well, there. They're not going to wow anyone in their complexity but they're not particularly bad either. They do their job, they get in and get out. Menu design follows the same basic patriotic theme of the box art. Episode list is contained on the main menu against a dark, gold-framed box in a highly readable white-colored Impact-style font. The menus for the set are just sort of, well, there. Which if anything is a bit of a metaphor for the show itself in it's final season.
Video and audio qualities are nearly flawless, and are about the best you're going to see unless the series is re-released onto Blu-ray. Audio is a standard English stereo track, which for a dialogue-heavy show like JAG is certainly acceptable. Chapter stops are placed at the end of each act. And the episode runtimes are similar to previous seasons.
If you're going for completion then buy the set, obviously. If you're just curious about the show, buy an earlier season or catch reruns on cable. This is the worst season of the show I think, finale aside, and is not the way you want to be introduced to the series. Technically the set is more or less solid. The problem is simply the show itself. Other seasons are better, overall, and I just can't recommend *THIS* season to anyone but the die-hard JAG fan who have all the previous seasons on DVD. The series itself, though, is great and I highly encourage you to give earlier years a look!
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(3.5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Friday, February 05, 2010
ABC Family Makes Schedule Changes, 8 Simple Rules Now Weekdays; John Ritter Book Coming in September Written by Amy Yasbeck
There will be changes to weekends, too. Starting Saturday, Feb. 13 on Saturdays from 7am-10am will now be That '70s Show replacing two hours of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and an hour of Full House. 8 Simple Rules will remain in the 10am hour on Saturday, Feb. 13, but starting Saturday, Feb. 20, That '70s Show takes this hour as well, expanding to 7am-11am on most Saturdays depending on movie start times. Movies take over the mornings now on most Sundays, but there could be a That '70s Show sighting on Sundays in the 7am hour leading into movies. That '70s Show airs weeknights in the 7pm hour, but most of the time it is preempted due to originals, movies, or various programming, so the weekend morning airings are better. It will continue to air on TeenNick every night as well.
We mentioned a while back that Amy Yasbeck (actress and the widow of John Ritter) is working on a book on the life of her late husband, but now we have more details! With Love and Laughter, John Ritter will be published by Simon & Schuster in September, on the seventh anniversary of Ritter's death from an undiagnosed aortic dissection. I still cannot believe it will be 7 years already next September. That was a horrific day.
"It's about John's take on everything, and what it was like to live with him," says Yasbeck, who met Ritter shooting Problem Child in 1989. "People have seen him as the celebrity, but this will be about the friend, the dad and the husband."
Shortly after his death in 2003, Yasbeck started the John Ritter Foundation to promote awareness about aortic aneurysm and dissection (Johnritterfoundation.org).
Amy continues to raise awareness of aortic dissection, as she recently spoke to ABC13 (KTRK) in Houston on this issue. She is doing a great job and is working with Dr. Milewicz and her UT-Houston team to find the genes that lead to Ritter's death. In these freezers are samples from 10,000 people which have helped them isolate four of the genes that are related to aortic aneurysm. Amy is certainly making a difference in the world by doing this. She will save many lives and needs to be honored for her fine work. The name John Ritter continues to spread a positive message, just as it did when he was alive.
View the video of ABC13's story. Everyone should take a look at this.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Just Shoot Me! On TV Guide Network; Remembering Producer Aaron Ruben
Just Shoot Me! is the first sitcom to air on TV Guide Network. Other series airing on TV Guide Network currently are Punk'd, American Idol Rewind, My Fair Brady, Celebrity Fit Club, and Ugly Betty (for now this is just encores of the weekly ABC airings). TV Guide Network also even airs movies now (weekdays 11am and 4pm).
Coming Wednesday, March 10 at 10pm on TV Guide Network are reruns of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as we previously announced. TV Guide Network will preserve the integrity of the show by keeping as much original content as suitable for basic cable audiences. The episodes will be edited by HBO for standards and practices, but will not be edited for time. The episodes will be edited only for language and nudity.
Aaron Ruben, a comedy writer, producer and director whose five-decade career included producing The Andy Griffith Show for the first five seasons and creating the spin-off series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., has died.
Ruben, who devoted much of his later life to being a court-appointed advocate for abused and abandoned children, died Saturday (Jan. 31, 2010) of complications from pneumonia at his home in Beverly Hills.
In the early 1950s, he was a writer on specials starring Danny Thomas, Ed Wynn and Eddie Cantor. He wrote for The Milton Berle Show, Caesar's Hour and The Phil Silvers Show, where he also began directing.
Ruben then moved on and produced The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 to 1965 and also wrote and directed some of the episodes of the popular CBS series. He also did Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as executive producer. Gomer aired on CBS from 1964 to 1970 and was the No. 2 top-rated program in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-66 season. He then teamed up with Carl Reiner and co-wrote and co-produced The Comic, a 1969 movie directed by Reiner about the rise and fall of a silent film comedian starring Dick Van Dyke.
In the 1970s, Ruben was the initial producer of Sanford and Son, the hit 1972-77 series starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson for which Ruben wrote many early episodes. Among his other credits as a producer, executive producer or write is The Headmaster, C.P.O. Sharkey, Teachers Only, Too Close for Comfort, The Stockard Channing Show, and The New Andy Griffith Show.
Mr. Ruben leaves his legacy on his many hit series. He lived a long life and will be missed. Mr. Ruben was 95.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
'90s Cosby Sitcom Now on Gospel Music Channel; Remembering TV Writer Barry Blitzer
You can win a 10 CD prize pack on Twitter if you retweet their status. Contest ends Friday (Feb. 5) at 12 noon ET, so hurry Hilton Lucas fans!
They have also quietly added Funniest Pets & People airing weekdays in the 7am hour. With the additions of Cosby and Funniest Pets & People, there are some time changes for their existing series. Airing weekdays in the 8am hour now will be Sister, Sister in between the two new series. In the 10am hour we now have an hour of Amen. Joyful Noise Cafe has now moved to 11am-1pm, as it used to air 7am-9am, which means Christy is now gone from 12 noon. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman will still remain in the 1pm, 2pm, 6pm and 7pm hours. Faith & Fame replaces Promised Land at 3pm, but Promised Land will now move to 10pm. Sue Thomas, F.B.eye will remain weekdays at 4pm and 8pm, while Doc also remain weekdays at 5pm and 9pm. Sister, Sister is replaced from 10pm-12am with the aforementioned Promised Land and Cosby hours. Various gospel progamming remains airs at 12 midnight ET and Amen continues to air with back-to-back episodes in the 1am ET hour, which is in addition to its 10am ET hour.
For weekends, everything looks the same with the weekly Sister, Sister Saturday marathons from 9am-2pm leading into movies the rest of the day. Sundays will still have a mix of movies and gospel programming.
View the full Gospel Music Channel schedule and to discuss these new changes.
Veteran television writer Barry Blitzer, who wrote for classic TV shows such as Get Smart and The Flintstones, died last Wednesday (Jan. 27) in Santa Monica, Calif from complications after abdominal surgery. Blitzer shared a Writers Guild nomination in 1968 for Get Smart, with co-writer and frequent collaborator Raymond Brenner. He wrote for comedies including The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle, Andy Griffith Show, The Love Boat, Hot L Baltimore, Too Close for Comfort, McHale's Navy, Filthy Rich, Small Wonder, and Good Times.
In addition to The Flinstones, Blitzer also wrote episodes for other Hanna Barbera cartoons like The Jetsons, The Flinstone Kids, The New Yogi Bear Show, and Top Cat, as well as children's programs including Land of the Lost. He was also the last surviving member of the group of writers who shared a 1956 Best Comedy Writing Emmy for The Phil Silvers Show (for the episode, "You'll Never Get Rich").
He was also a story editor for the animated versions of Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley (The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Laverne & Shirley in the Army), along with writing episodes for The Partridge Family animated series Partridge Family 2200 AD.
Mr. Blitzer will certainly be missed even though he has not written anything since 1990. He was 80.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
TV Land Announces March Changes to Accomodate Everybody Loves Raymond; ABC Family Picks Up Melissa and Joey Sitcom
There are also some changes happening before the March 18 schedule. Bewitched will still air weeknights in the 5pm hour starting March 1, but it will launch on Feb. 28 now with a block from 1pm-5pm. And the Bewitched "Better Living Through Magic" weekend marathon scheduled for March 20-21, is now 11am-7pm instead of 11am-11pm because of the Raymond launch, which will be March 18-21 (Thursday and Friday from 9pm-12am and Sat-Sun from 9pm-1am).
And late last week we told you about some TV Land February changes, now they have added one more. Effective Sunday, Feb. 21, the Sunday night late night line-up has changed. Brady Bunch and Little House on the Prairie will be removed from 4am-6am and will be replaced by a block of Three's Company, which is on now for all seven days of the week in late nights now. This means Brady Bunch and Little House on the Prairie are off the schedule totally. See the full February 2010 update.
And to get the full details on March, view the updated TV Land March 2010 schedule.
ABC Family has picked-up a new original sitcom titled Melissa & Joey. The series has been given a 10-episode order and is scheduled to premiere later in 2010. Melissa & Joey is a half-hour multi-cam comedy with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence executive producing and starring that finds Hart portraying Mel, the grown-up former wild child of a political family who is now a local politician herself. When her sister ends up in prison and brother-in-law flees after a scandal hits, Mel must take responsibility for her teenaged niece Lennox and pre-adolescent nephew Ryder. Spread too thin to manage by herself, help comes in the unlikely form of Joe (Lawrence) who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family's "manny." David Kendall & Bob Young are executive producers and writers; Paula Hart also serves as executive producer.
Melissa Joan Hart has a long history on the network, and she and Joey recently starred in the network's original movie, My Fake Fiance, which broke records for the network last year. They have fantastic chemistry and are just so relatable to our viewers. We knew we wanted to get them together again, and developed this comedy specifically with them in mind, ABC Family says.
ABC Family has only one other original sitcom still airing and that's the single camera sitcom 10 Things I Hate About You. Their other original sitcoms like Roommmates and Ruby and the Rockits didn't do well in the ratings. Melissa & Joey join the recent pick-ups of two all-new original series, but those are dramas -- Huge and Pretty Little Liars. Both are also ordered for 10 episodes each and will launch later in 2010 as well.
Huge, based on author Sasha Paley's book of the same name, is being developed by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life, Once & Again) and daughter Savannah Dooley. Holzman will be executive producer on the premiere episode, and will serve as consultant for the remainder of the episodes. Dooley will serve as producer on the series. Alloy Entertainment's Bob Levy and Leslie Morgenstein will serve as executive producers; Robin Schiff (ABC Family's 10 Things I Hate About You) will serve as a consulting producer. Funny, heartbreaking and provocative, Huge follows the lives of six teens and the staff at a weight-loss camp, as they look beneath the surface to discover their true selves and the truth about each other.
Pretty Little Liars follows four estranged best friends who are reunited one year after their best friend and queen bee of the group, Alison, goes missing only to discover they are receiving messages from an anonymous "A" who knows all their secrets. The drama stars Lucy Hale (Privileged) as Aria, Troian Bellisario (Navy NCIS) as Spencer, Ashley Benson (Eastwick) as Hanna and Shay Mitchell as Emily. Also starring are Laura Leighton (Melrose Place) and Nia Peeples (The Young and the Restless). Additionally, Bianca Lawson (The Vampire Diaries) has been cast in a recurring role as Maya. Warner Horizon and Alloy Entertainment are producing; Bob Levy, Leslie Morgenstein and Marlene King are executive-producing.
Monday, February 01, 2010
TV One, Hallmark Channel Make Schedule Changes; Married with Children on Comedy Central Details
The Hallmark Channel also made some schedule changes and they sent out the notice late on Friday as well. Hallmark's changes begin effective tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 2), though. But there is one minor change for today. Instead of M*A*S*H in the 5pm hour, there will be an episode of Touched by an Angel leading into a skating special at 6pm. Now that we got that our of the way, we can give you the schedule changes starting tomorrow. Weekdays in the 11am hour now will be more Golden Girls, replacing Little House. So Golden Girls now will air mornings from 9am-12pm. America's Funniest Home Videos will move to 12-2pm, instead of an episode each of Little House and 7th Heaven. From 2pm-5pm will now be three episodes of Little House on the Prairie, replacing 7th Heaven and two hours of AFV (which moves to 12-2pm as stated). From 5-8pm now will be three episodes of 7th Heaven, replacing two hours of M*A*S*H and an hour of AFV. That does mean M*A*S*H is now off the schedule. Finally, the last change is to late nights. 1am-3am will now be two-hours of AFV, replacing Cheers, which will now just be 3-4am. No other changes will be made to the schedule, but don't forget the weekend I Love Lucy marathon this weekend (Feb. 6-7)!
View the Hallmark Channel changes.
Finally, we leave you today with details on when Married...with Children will air on Comedy Central. We finally got word on yes, late Friday, on when it will air on Comedy Central. The series will no longer air on TV Land, as we mentioned, and will move to Comedy Central, which is a sister network of TV Land. Married...with Children will air weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm ET/PT starting Monday, Feb. 8, replacing airings of Comedy Central Presents. Married...with Children will also air on most weekends in the 12:00pm ET/PT hour. Married...with Children will lead into airings of Scrubs on both weekdays and weekends. Scrubs airs weekdays in the 6:00pm ET/PT hour on Comedy Central and various times on weekends.
Stay with us tomorrow as we details how TV Land will look like with the addition of Everybody Loves Raymond starting March 18!
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Thursday, September 3
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Bus Bench and Faith out the Wazoo" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Audrey and Mary’s (Zoe Perry) feud rears its head when Georgie needs their help with the tire store, and Jim’s forced to confront his age after a visit to the DMV.
Ghosts - "Up the Creek" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Woodstone’s future is put in jeopardy, Sam and Jay join forces with the ghosts to protect the mansion by securing its place in history, on part one of the two-part fifth season finale.
Adults - "Talia" (FX and FXX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Anton learns that his sister is starting a family, while Issa begins thinking about her own fertility. Written by Shaun Menchel; Directed by Maggie Carey.
Adults - "Raccoon" (FX and FXX, 9:32PM ET/PT)
Issa and Paul Baker host Acid Night. Written by Sanaz Toossi; Directed by Oz Rodriguez.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 31)
Thursday, September 3
- Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) - Catch Olivia on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Rickey Smiley (The Rickey Smiley Show) - Rickey appears on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Stephen Root (Barry/Ladies Man/NewsRadio) - Stephen is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) and Steve Zahn (Chad Powers/The Righteous Gemstones) - Glen and Steve talk about Chad Powers on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. Steve and Frankie Rodriguez will be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Sophia Bush (Partners) - Sophia guest co-hosts a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - NBC's Today has the Best of Fun & Games with "Queen of Quips" with Michelle in the 10am hour.
- Casey Wilson (The Righteous Gemstones/Black Monday/The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings) and Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - NBC's Today has the Best of Fun & Games with "Beat the Box" with Casey, Andrew and Prue Leith in the 10am hour.
- Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Apple TV's Widow's Bay on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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