Friday, March 05, 2010
NBC Summer 2010 Plans; BET Re-Acquires In Living Color; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 8, 2010)
NBC announced the Emmy change along with premiere dates for the returning series America's Got Talent and Last Comic Standing, and two new scripted shows - the multi-camera comedy 100 Questions and the mystery Persons Unknown.
America's Got Talent will return featuring new judge Howie Mandel with a two-hour debut Tuesday, June 1 from 8-10pm, and a Wednesday edition premiering the following night (June 2) at 9pm. Talent then would be reduced to 9pm on Tuesdays starting June 8. It is unclear what will air at 8pm, but Law & Order repeats will air in the Tuesday 10pm hour. As for Wednesdays, Talent repeats will air at 8pm and Law & Order: SVU repeats at 10pm starting June 9.
Last Comic Standing, with new host Craig Robinson (The Office) also will return with a two-hour premiere Monday, June 7 from 8-10pm, then transition to its usual time slot at 9 pm Mondays. Repeats of Comic will air at 8pm starting the following week and new drama Persons Unknown will air at 10pm. Read more on that below.
Sitcom 100 Questions stars Charlotte Payne as a woman taking a 100-question dating-compatibility test, with each question causing her to recall a humorous story from her past. The show debuts at 8:30 pm Thursday, May 27 but will be airing alongside comedy repeats on Thursdays. Smells like a burn-off as it was originally slated for the regular season.
Drama Persons Unknown stars Alan Ruck and Jason Wiles and is about a group of strangers who come together to solve a puzzle. The drama debuts at 10 pm Monday, June 7 right after Last Comic Standing.
Encore episodes from Season 9 of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which will premiere in the spring on USA Network,) will run on NBC starting at 10 pm Sunday, June 20 following repeats of Law & Order at 9pm. Dateline will usually air Sundays 7-9pm. Other Sunday programming has the half-hour special The Making of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which gives viewers a sneak peak of the Universal Orlando Resort's new theme park attraction, runs Sunday, June 6 at 7pm and the annual The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, which is set for Sunday, July 4 in the 9pm hour.
The two-hour adventure movie The Jensen Project, will air Friday, July 16 from 8-10pm. The usual Friday summer schedule will have Friday Night Lights at 8pm and Dateline from 9-11pm.
View the FULL NBC summer schedule in a list form.
Last night NBC had the birth of Jim and Pam's baby on The Office. It probably didn't match-up no where near the top TV sitcom births of all-time. Our friends at TVTango.com has a cool list of the top 10 TV births of all-time! See who made the cut at TVTango.com!
Also, while we're talking about NBC Thursday, their comedies are not as good now as they have been in the past and our friend Eric of JustMyShow.com has started a Facebook page to rally NBC to air its classic Thursday night lineup for one night! Yes, that means The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court and Hill Street Blues. WGN America aired that line-up (minus Night Court) for one night in September and it brought back such good memories! Be a fan of this Facebook page and maybe NBC will do it (yeah right, they are making terrible decisions so of course not).
In other news, BET has re-acquired the '90s sketch comedy series In Living Color. Actually, they quietly added the show last Saturday (Feb. 27) and are airing it every Saturday morning. The series will usually air on BET from 9am-12pm on Saturdays.
We did a special preview of a new blog feature here at SitcomsOnline called "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" last Saturday, now every Friday we will bring you the listings of Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows for the coming week starting today. To recap, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of March 8-12, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!
Monday, March 8, 2010
- Lisa Kudrow (Friends) - Lisa stops by The Martha Stewart Show continuing her rounds for her NBC reality series that she is producing. Check local listings for time and channel.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
- Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town) - He will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am ET on ABC discussing his ABC sitcom.
- Lisa Kudrow (Friends) - She will be promoting her NBC produced series on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am ET on CBS. ALSO, she will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Check local listings for time and channe.
- Adhir Kaylan (Rules of Engagement) - Adhir will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am ET on CBS.
- Andy Richter (various sitcoms) - Andy guest co-hosts with Kelly Ripa on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly. Check local listings for time and channel.
- Betty White (Mary Tyler Moore Show/Golden Girls) - This is a repeat of her appearance on The Bonnie Hunt Show from February. Check local listings.
- Pat Harrington, Jr. (One Day at a Time) - He stops by The Florence Henderson Show on RLTV (Retirement Living TV) at 2pm ET.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
- Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill stops by The Bonnie Hunt Show. Check local listings for time and channel.
- Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple) - Jack stops to chat on The Florence Henderson Show on RLTV at 10pm ET.
- Conchata Ferrell (Two and a Half Men) - She also is a guest on The Florence Henderson Show on RLTV at 10pm ET.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
- Valerie Harper (Rhoda/Valerie) - She will be on ABC's Good Morning America this morning at 7am ET.
- Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) - He drops by to see the ladies of The View at 11am ET/10am PT on ABC
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry guest co-hosts with Kelly Ripa on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly. Check your local listings for time and channel. He will also appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm on Comedy Central.
- Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) - This is a repeat appearance of him on The Bonnie Hunt Show from February. Check local listings.
- Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time) - She will be on Larry King Live on CNN at 9pm ET to discuss addiction.
- Nancy Dussault (Too Close for Comfort) - She stops by The Florence Henderson Show at 2pm on RLTV.
- James Avery (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - The sitcom star stops by The Florence Henderson Show at 2pm on RLTV.
- Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons/227) - The legendary Marla Gibbs stops by the 10pm edition (encores at 1am ET) of The Florence Henderson Show on RLTV! There's no place this show, child!
Friday, March 12, 2010
- Jason Sudekis (The Cleveland Show/SNL) - He will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35am ET.
- Ted Danson (Cheers/Becker/Bored to Death)- He will be on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, but probably talking about Damages. Check local listings for time and channel.
Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this new feature! We do listen!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Wipeout Returns June 22 on ABC, More Updates; Spike TV Orders 2nd Season of Comedy
There is no word what will follow Wipeout yet on the Tuesday night summer schedule, but ABC could opt to air the second season of Shaq Vs. for 6 weeks, as they have ordered a second season. After that, I would assume Wipeout would air for two-hours each week from 8-10pm. In other ABC summer news, The Bachelorette will launch on Monday, May 24 from 9-11pm after Dancing with the Stars' performance finale. Then it will move to 8-10pm on Mondays starting the following week, Monday, May 31. And at 10pm the second season of reality series True Beauty from Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks will return. Among the other reality series ABC has available this summer are The Bachelor Pad, Dating in the Dark, Let's Dance, Secret Millionaire and Ice Dancing with the Stars from the producers of Dancing with the Stars (this format has done well in the UK where it is called Strictly Ice Dancing) has a 6 episode order (but it might not be ready by summer, so maybe December?). ABC also has scripted options in Copper and possibly a few others such as Scoundrels and The Gates. But more on those at a later date.
Moving on to the current regular season, ABC has scheduled two clip shows for its returning dramas from hiatus. FLASHFORWARD: What Did You See? will recap the first ten episodes of FLASHFORWARD in a way both new viewers and current fans will enjoy. The clip show will air Tuesday, March 16 after LOST at 10pm and the series returns with all-new episodes on Thursdays, starting March 18 at 8pm. Similarly, ABC has just announced it will do the same for V, doing a clip show after LOST. The V clip show will recap the first four episodes in a way new viewers and current fans will enjoy. This one airs a week later on Tuesday, March 23 at 10pm and the series returns with all-new episodes airing Tuesdays at 10pm the following week (March 30). Watch these two shows when they return and if you haven't watched yet, catch up with the recap episodes in time for their returns!
Spike TV has picked up a second season of 13 episodes of its first original scripted comedy series, Blue Mountain State. Produced by Varsity Pictures' Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter-Bridgett and Lionsgate, Blue Mountain State launched in January and has averaged nearly 1 million viewers, improving the timeslot in the key demographics of Men 18-24 by 165% and Men 18-34 by 86% (through six episodes).
Blue Mountain State follows the on and off-field antics of incoming freshmen as they learn to adapt to life at the fictional college football powerhouse, Blue Mountain State. Former NFL running back and veteran actor, Ed Marinaro (Hill Street Blues), stars as the coach. Alex, played by Emmy Award-winner Darin Brooks (Blue Crush) is a talented quarterback, content to be second-string and ride the bench while partying with his best friend Sammy, played by Romanski (The Sarah Silverman Program). The cast also includes Thad, played by Alan Ritchson (Smallville), the team's over-the-top team captain and Denise played by Gabrielle Dennis (The Game).
Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett are executive producers of the single-camera comedy. Series star Romanski, along with Eric Falconer (The Sarah Silverman Program, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) also serve as executive producers and writers.
As for the first season, the season is still currently in the middle of its season. The first season will end on Tuesday, March 30 at 10pm. It is stil unclear when the second season will launch, but at least we know there will be a second season!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Nick at Nite Adds Two More March Stunts, Including Chris Marathon; Comedy Central Picks Up Original Comedy; 227 Reunion Video Link
And finally Nick at Nite has added an Everybody Hates Chris marathon for the end of the month! The marathon will air Monday, March 29 through Friday, April 2, 2010 from 11:00pm-5:00am ET/PT each night. That's five nights of Chris!
View the full Nick at Nite March 2010 schedule with these updates!
Comedy Central has picked-up an original single-camera sitcom. A ten-episode series starring Mail Order Comedy's Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, Adam Devine and directed ny Kyle Newacheck will premiere this summer on the cable network.
Graduating from college and entering the real world isn't easy, especially for these three unmotivated roommates! Comedy Central greenlights Workaholics from Avalon Television, Inc. and Gigapix Studios. The 10-episode half-hour weekly scripted series set to premiere this summer stars Mail Order Comedy's Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, Adam Devine and several episodes will be directed by Kyle Newacheck. Kevin Etten (Scrubs) has signed on as showrunner and executive producer.
Workaholics is a scripted series that follows three friends fresh out of college who live and work together as telemarketers. Dress codes, deadlines and waking up before noon isn't something these guys are used to. The crew spends their days scheming together to avoid doing any real work and their nights looking for good times.
Stay with us for more info in the coming months on this series.
And if you missed it (you might have because it was originally scheduled for Thursday), view the entire portion of the 227 cast reunion on the Today show this morning. And later the cast came back to answer e-mails.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
TV Land Picks Up Original Sitcom Hot in Cleveland for 10 Episodes Starting In June; Dancing with the Stars Season 10 Cast and Pairings
Hot in Cleveland is written by Emmy Award-winning Suzanne Martin (Frasier, Ellen) and is produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions.
Hot in Cleveland is a TV Land PRIME original production and is the network's first venture into scripted comedy series. The series is scheduled to air starting in June 2010. Stay with us for a premiere date and more soon.
Hot in Cleveland revolves around three fabulous, LA women of a certain age and best friends (Bertinelli, Leeves and Malick). Their lives are changed forever when their plane - headed for Paris - unexpectedly lands in Cleveland and they soon rediscover themselves in this new "promised land." Loving their new home, the women find themselves living under one roof and battling the sassy caretaker of the property they have rented, played by Betty White.
See a video clip from the pilot episode:
Last night during the finale of The Bachelor: On The Wings of Love, ABC announced an all-new lineup of eleven stars for the tenth edition of Dancing with the Stars -- including a Baywatch babe, a legendary astronaut, a Bachelor, an Olympic gold medalist, a Bengal, an ESPN Reporter, a pop singer, an original 90210 alum, an actor, a comedienne and a reality television star who is the mother of eight -- will strut their stuff on the dance floor in the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, March 22 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC.
All eleven couples will dance for the first time on live national television on Monday, March 22, with couples either performing the Viennese Waltz or Cha Cha. In week two, all of the couples will return to dance their second routines in a two-hour show, Monday, March 29 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT. The couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and viewer votes for both performances will be sent home on Tuesday, March 30 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT in the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars: The Results, at a new time.
And now it is time to announce the celebrities and their professional partners!
1. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin will be paired with Ashly Costa (formerly DelGrosso), who returns for her fourth season and returns for the first time since season three.
2. Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson will be paired with newcomer Damian Whitewood.
3. Sexy ESPN reporter Erin Andrews will be paired with Maksim Chmerkoviskiy, who returns for his eighth season.
4. TV icon Shannen Doherty will be paired with Mark Ballas, who returns for his sixth season.
5. Reality TV mom Kate Gosselin will be paired with Tony Dovolani, who returns for his ninth straight season.
6. World Figure Skating champion Evan Lysacek will be paired with Anna Trebunskya, who returns for her fifth season.
7. Comedienne and sitcom star Niecy Nash will be paired with Louis Van Amstel, who returns for his sixth season.
8. NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will be paired with Cheryl Burke, who returns for her ninth straight season.
9. The Bachelor star Jake Pavelka will be paired with Chelsie Hightower, who returns for her third season.
10. Pussycat Doll bombshell Nicole Scherzinger will be paired with Derek Hough, who returns for his sixth season.
11. And finally soap heartthrob Aiden Turner will be paired with Edyta Sliwinska, who has appeared in all ten seasons and the only one to do so.
Because the pairings goes from 16 last season to 11 this season, and that two pros are new from last season (one brand new), this means 7 professionals from last season will not be on this season. Fan favorite Lacey Schwimmer, last season's champion Kym Johnson, last season's runner-up Dmitry Chaplin, first season champ Alec Mazo, last season's newcomer Anna Demidova, veteran Jonathan Roberts, and the controversial Karina Smirnoff will not be on this season. They can turn up on Results Shows of course in performances. But hopefully they return in future seasons in actual pairings, especially fan fave Lacey and Dmitry.
Read more about the celebrities.
And if you missed it, view the entire portion of the The Partridge Family cast reunion on the Today show this morning. And later the cast came back to answer e-mails.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Hallmark Channel Cuts AFV, Adds More Cheers Starting Tonight; Remembering Andrew Koenig
Today we remember the life of Andrew Koenig. Andrew Koenig, an actor best known for his role in the 1980's television series Growing Pains, was found dead in Vancouver on Thursday (Feb. 25, 2010). His death was announced by the Vancouver police at a news conference in the downtown park where his body was found. Andrew's father, the actor Walter Koenig, said his son "took his own life." Andrew was visiting friends in Vancouver when he was reported missing more than a week ago.
From 1985 to 1989 Andrew had a recurring role as a friend of Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) on the hit ABC sitcom Growing Pains. He also guest starred on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, My Two Dads, 21 Jump Street, My Sister Sam, & Adam-12 . He also worked as a film editor and wrote and directed short films. His father played the part of Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek.
Growing Pains star Alan Thicke (Dr. Jason Seaver) had this to say about Andrew: "Andrew's light shone brightly on the Growing Pains set. His skill and humor and friendship were important elements in our extended family. May his own family now find comfort in their memories of the good times with this very special young man."
Such a tragic loss. Even though he was not a major star or anything, he will still be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Koenig family. Andrew was only 41.
And if you missed it, view the entire portion of the Eight is Enough cast reunion on Today this morning. And later the cast came back to answer e-mails.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Week 23 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
(We don't have the final network averages through Thursday AGAIN (sorry), 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 23 (Feb. 15-21) Analysis: For week 23, thus far through the first four nights it is NBC for the second straight week thanks to the Winter Olympics. So far through the first four days of the week I can project, NBC is first across the board, with Fox in second. CBS is third in HH/viewers, but fourth in 18-49, as ABC is the opposite of that, third in 18-49 but fourth in HH/viewers. Last week, week 22, NBC took home first place in every category obviously thanks to the Olympics. Fox was second across the board, while CBS was third in HH/viewers, but fourth in 18-49. ABC was in fourth in HH/viewers, but was however third in 18-49.
On Monday it was all Olympics as most programming was in repeats. NBC's coverage of the primetime portion of the Olympics did 21.09 million from 8-11pm and 20.93 million overall from 8pm-11:13pm, down about 5 million from the previous week. CBS was in repeats with its comedies and CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 6.06 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating for a repeat, up some from previous week, while a repeat of Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 5.29 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, on par really from previous week. Two and a Half Men followed with a repeat as well doing 10.29 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, also on par really from previous week and The Big Bang Theory followed with a repeat of its own doing 9.16 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, down from previous week. A repeat of CSI: Miami at 10pm did 7.95 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down from previous week. ABC started it off with The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love - The Women Tell All special doing a solid 11.27 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, down from a regular episode the previous week but still great. Finale is tomorrow! A repeat of Castle was next and did 5.16 million, down some from previous week and could be better. Castle returns with new episodes on March 8. Fox started off with a repeat of House doing 6.14 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. A new episode of 24 was next doing 8.83 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, viewers were up a bit from previous week. NBC will return Chuck tomorrow, and the new night premiere of Law & Order also. The CW aired an all-new One Tree Hill doing 2.23 million, up from previous week, followed by an all-new episode of Life UneXpected at 1.94 million, up a bit from previous week.
On Tuesday, Fox won and beat the Olympics on NBC for the second straight Tuesday. Fox of course started with an all-new two-hour American Idol with 24.21 million, up some from previous week. It did a mammoth 9.0 18-49 rating, but that was down a bit from previous week. The Winter Olympics on NBC were next doing 21.23 million in primetime and 21.28 million from 8-11:10pm, up a tad from previous Tuesday. 5.5 18-49 rating is good, but it got clobbered by Idol. CBS started with a repeat of NCIS doing 11.59 million, down just a bit from previous week. Then spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was next with a repeat of its own doing 8.61 million, down from previous week. And finally CBS aired a repeat of The Good Wife doing 7.07 million and only a 1.4 8-49 rating, down some from previous week in viewers. ABC started off with a LOST enhanced encore doing 4.36 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up some from previous week in viewers. Then an all-new episode of the final season of LOST was next with 9.95 million, up a bit from the previous week and also did a 4.6 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Stay tuned for the showdown this week as the battle will begin! ABC aired a new episode of the forgotten at 10pm and did a so-so 5.02 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating...on par really from previous week. NBC will return two-hour The Biggest Loser episodes this Tuesday and the premiere of Parenthood will follow it. The CW aired repeats of 90210 and Melrose Place doing only 760,000 and 460,000 viewers...the latter was down some from previous week's repeats.
On Wednesday this time Idol beat the Olympics. Why? Because it was two-hours. Fox started preempted Human Target and aired a two-hour American Idol doing 22.96 million, up about 4 million from previous week when it just aired at 9pm. 18-49 rating was up from 7.0 to 8.7 as well. The Winter Olympics did 20.26 million in primetime and 19.81 million overall from 8pm-11:15pm, that's down like 10 million from previous Wednesday. CBS started at 8pm with repeats of its comedies Old Christine and Gary Unmarried doing 4.41 million and 3.34 million, both down from previous week, especially the latter one. Next CBS aired a repeat of Criminal Minds at 7.23 million and a repeat of CSI: NY at 10pm did 7.94 million, both down some from previous week. ABC comedies were next with a repeat of Modern Family at 8pm doing 3.75 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, but that was down a lot from previous week, a repeat episode of The Middle was next doing 3.78 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, also down from previous week but it did build from the lead-in. Modern Family was a repeat in its normal 9pm slot and did 4.37 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. A special repeat of The Middle was next doing 3.5 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Next Cougar Town was in repeats in the 10pm hour doing only 3.29 and 2.67 million, both on par or a bit better from previous week. Ugly Betty was preempted, but a repeat of that would have done worse at 10pm. NBC will return Mercy and Law & Order: SVU on this coming Wednesday. The CW aired more repeats as Life UneXpected did 1.03 million, down some from previous week, and then a repeat of Gossip Girl followed and only did 570,000 viewers, same as previous week.
Moving on to Thursday it was the Olympics with the win. NBC's coverage of the Olympics did 22.92 million and a 6.1 18-49 rating, down from previous Thursday. CBS started with a new Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains doing 11.6 million and 3.7 18-49 rating, both down some from previous week. CBS aired The Mentalist at a special time of 9pm for a repeat doing 9.65 million, which was up from previous week, and a CSI repeat aired at 10pm doing 7.62 million, but that was down some from previous week. ABC started off with the season finale of The Deep End at only 3.87 million, down some from previous week but the 18-49 rating stayed the same though at a 1.1 rating. I thought that was the best episode of the series. A repeat of Grey's Anatomy was next and did 4.53 million. A repeat of Private Practice was next doing only 3.58 million. Both shows return with new episodes this Thursday! Fox preempted Bones but they had the first results show for American Idol instead! It did 18.0 million and a 6.5 18-49 rating and both were season lows. A new Kitchen Nightmares on a special night did 7.43 million. NBC will return Community , Parks & Recreation and The Office this Thursday, while 30 Rock returns the week after. At 10pm NBC will launch reality series The Marriage Ref this Thursday. The CW aired a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing 1.63 million and Supernatural was a repeat and did 1.54 million, both on par from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but NBC won Friday with the Winter Olympics, as the other networks aired repeats again.
Saturday numbers saw NBC win the night of course with more Winter Olympics coverage opposite repeats, though Fox did pretty close to normal numbers with its crime reality series once again.
Tonight it the closing ceremonies for the Winter Olympics on NBC that will make them win the night. ABC's regular line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are all-new (except Home Edition). Julie Benz is quite stunning on Desperate, tune in for her! CBS has a new The Amazing Race and Undercover Boss. And the struggling Cold Case closes the night off at 10. Fox has repeats of their animated comedies and new episodes of 'Til Death. NBC will win the week in all categories because of the Winter Olympics no matter what. Fox will be second across the board, with CBS in third likely in HH/viewers, but fourth in 18-49 I think. ABC will likely have to settle for 4th in HH/viewers, but third in 18-49. As for this coming week, NBC is back at 10pm, while all the other networks are also back with new episodes as the Olympics are done. Our pick of the week: the hilarious ABC Comedy Wednesday has all-new episodes!
Week 23 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 22-- Feb. 15-21)
- 'Til Death (Fox) - Two all-new episodes were barely on the map in the 7pm hour doing only 3.36 and 2.92 million...not good that the second episode dropped.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 5.98 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating...up some from previous week.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 5.58 million for a new episode and also a 2.9 18-49 rating, both up from previous week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 6.32 million, just barely below the previous week when it was all-new. Even the 18-49 rating of 3.2 was only a tenth off from previous week's new episode.
- American Dad (Fox) - 5.66 million for a new episode and a 2.8 18-49 rating...both up from previous week and its lead-in was a repeat this week!
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 6.06 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating for a repeat opposite the Olympics, is better than previous week by some.
- Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 5.29 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating for a repeat. Down some from previous week in viewers, but the same 18-49 rating. This was its last Monday airing. Show moves to Wednesdays at 8:30pm now, but not until March 31.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 10.29 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating for a repeat. Viewers was down some from previous week, but 18-49 was the same.
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 9.16 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating for a repeat. Down a million from previous week's repeat and the 18-49 was down also. A bit disappointing, but it was a repeat.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- None.
- Old Christine (CBS) - 4.41 million for a repeat and only a 1.1 18-49 rating, both down some from previous week's repeat.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 3.34 million for a repeat and just a 0.9 18-49 rating. Just three more weeks left before its season is over. Will it return for a third season?
- The Middle (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 8:30pm following a repeat of Modern Family did 3.78 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, both down some from previous week. A special 9:30pm repeat did not do as well doing only 3.5 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, but both were up from previous week.
- Modern Family (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 8pm did 3.75 million and a 1.2 14-49 rating, both down from previous week. The regular 9pm airing was also a repeat this time and did 4.37 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating...on par with previous week.
- Cougar Town (ABC) 2 airings - Two repeats aired at a special time of 10pm & 10:30pm did 3.29 and 2.67 million. Up some from previous week.
Thursday Sitcoms
- Community (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- The Office (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
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. All repeats. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose repeats were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Modern Family 9pm, Old Christine) or just plain old terrible (such as 'Til Death, Gary Unmarried).
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Blog DVD Review: Matlock - The Fourth Season (3/2); Special Preview: Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 1, 2010)
Matlock - The Fourth Season (CBS DVD, $49.99) brings order to the courtroom with 23 more episodes of the man in the gray suit that proves that the elderly really can fight to defend criminal defendants accused of the most heinous crimes. Andy Griffith is, of course, Ben Matlock, who appears to be a kind older gentleman, but is in fact a powerful defense attorney who can defend virtually anybody. Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford) is his partner in his law firm, and joining Ben for this season is his newest private investigator, Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard, Jr.). The Fourth Season contains all 23 unedited episodes of the 1989-1990 season on six discs.
In the two hour season premiere, "The Hunting Party," Ben has to travel to Roanoke Island to defend a man guilty of murdering a wealthy duck hunter, but while there, he meets Conrad, who would become his private investigator. In "The Good Boy," a woman is accused of murdering her husband, but could the real murderer be the stepson whom he threatened to send to military school? Murder is no laughing matter when a circus clown is dead (and his partner is accused of the murder) in "The Clown." A prison guard is suspected of killing a snitch in the two-part episode "The Prisoner," and Ben and Conrad do some undercover work to get to the bottom of it. One of Ben's clients decides to escape from his own murder trial in "The Fugitive."
Ben thinks one of his friends may be behind a 35 year old murder in "The Buddies." Murder doesn't take a holiday, as is proven in "The Scrooge." An obnoxious talk show host is murdered in "The Talk Show." Ben has been kidnapped in "The Kidnapper." In "The Informer," one of Ben's own colleagues is accused of murdering a client. Ben and Conrad step up to help the district attorney, Julie, in "The D.A." Who would kill the cookie lady? Find out in the appropriately titled episode, "The Cookie Monster."
There isn't much to say about the packaging for this set, as it is just a standard CBS DVD release with a standard DVD case. The cover art has Ben, Julie, and Michelle on it (why did they exclude Conrad?) and the back of the case has all of the season information as well as snapshots of all four main cast members. Inside, there are descriptions for each of the episodes, along with original airdates. Each disc is gray, with no artwork, and each disc contains four episodes, except for Disc 1, which contains the two-hour season premiere and two regular episodes.
The menus on the set are pretty standard as well, with nothing particularly special about them. They each have snapshots from the episodes on the discs and different pictures of Ben and Julie, with one of them containing the exact same photo on the cover art (except flipped). The main menu has no audio, and has basic options of Play All, then a listing of all of the episodes. Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
The video quality is mostly fine, but it does leave something to be desired. The episodes look like they could have been cleaned up a little bit better than they were. The audio, presented in stereo, is pretty loud and clear. The episodes are all closed-captioned. The set has the standard CBS DVD disclaimers about edited episodes, but there really doesn't appear to be an issue, aside from the missing opening teasers for each episode. The only slight area of concern that I have is the final episode of the season, "The Cookie Monster," which runs at just under 46 minutes, but I don't know for certain that anything is missing there. Runtimes for each episode are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. The Hunting Party (1:33:25)
2. The Good Boy (47:55)
3. The Best Seller (47:56)
Disc 2:
4. The Ex (47:56)
5. The Clown (47:58)
6. The Star (47:28)
7. The Con Man (47:54)
Disc 3:
8. The Prisoner, Part 1 (47:55)
9. The Prisoner, Part 2 (46:24)
10. The Fugitive (47:55)
11. The Witness (47:54)
Disc 4:
12. The Buddies (47:55)
13. The Scrooge (47:55)
14. The Student (46:56)
15. The Talk Show (46:55)
Disc 5:
16. The Victim (46:54)
17. The Kidnapper (46:58)
18. The Pro (46:57)
19. The Informer, Part 1 (46:56)
Disc 6:
20. The Informer, Part 2 (46:26)
21. The D.A. (46:57)
22. The Blackmailer (46:53)
23. The Cookie Monster (45:56)
Once again, there is a void of special features. It would be nice to see Andy Griffith himself participating on these sets somehow, even if it is just a brief interview.
This set certainly isn’t going to impress anybody, but it is definitely adequate and the episodes on the set are always fun to watch. Matlock is a series that everybody can enjoy, and it did make a mark in pop culture when it originally aired. Hopefully, the remaining seasons will all be released in a timely manner, and it would be nice if they could improve the video quality JUST a little bit and throw in some special features. This set may not have a rock solid defense, but I think it is clear that this set is not guilty, and Matlock himself would prove it to you.
-- Reviewed by skees53
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Today, in addition to the blog review, we are doing a special preview of a new blog feature here at SitcomsOnline called "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows." We always have had this request because I'm sure some of you may miss a blog story or something (hopefully not!), but now every Friday we will bring you the listings of Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows for the coming week. The stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
We are launching it today on a Saturday, but its normal day and time will be on Fridays right after our normal news. So without further adieu, here is our first blog story on this new feature!
For the week of March 1-5, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for this week!
- First up, on Monday, March 1, Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) will be on the Tavis Smiley Show to talk about his hit CBS sitcom. Check your local PBS listings for the time in your area for this talk show. Also from The Big Bang Theory, Simon Helberg (Howard) will appear on CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am ET/PT. 30 Rock's Judah Friedlander will be on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am ET/PT. Former sitcom star (and Baywatch babe) Nicole Eggert (Charles in Charge) will be on TBS's Lopez Tonight at 11pm ET, but she will be primarily talking about her stint on Celebrity Fit Club. Also, David Spade (Rules of Engagement) will be on syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about the return of his sitcom. Check local listings for time and channel in your area. And finally Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) will be on Oprah to talk about his upcoming series he is producing, but I'm covering him because he is likely to bring up Seinfeld because he is returning to NBC. Check your local listings and time for Oprah. Oh just one more thing for Monday, Jimmy Kimmel Live will have an interview with one of the Dancing with the Stars contestants on his show. Will it be a sitcom star? We will have to watch and see, as the new batch of contestants will be announced on Monday night in primetime. The show airs on ABC at 12:05am ET.
- Moving on to Tuesday, March 2. Once again I would normally not cover George Clooney, but this is a 20/20 Before They Were Stars special in time for the Oscars and Clooney will be interviewed about his past, which includes a stint on the '80s sitcom The Facts of Life. Lisa Whelchel (Blair from Facts of Life) is also interviewed! The special airs on ABC on Tuesday, March 2 at 10pm ET/PT. And as we mentioned already there is a Partridge Family reunion on Tuesday on NBC's Today show with Suzanne Crough, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, and Brian Forster. We are not sure of the exact time, but are told it would be either in the 8am ET or 9am ET hour. Bryan Greenberg from the new HBO sitcom How To Make It In America will be on The Bonnie Hunt Show. Check your local listings for time and channel. And if you get Retirement Living TV (RLTV), Robert Guillaume (SOAP, Benson) stops by The Florence Henderson Show at 2pm ET.
- For Wednesday, March 3, we have to break some sad news as NBC has canceled the Brady Bunch reunion that was set for this date on the Today show. All of the Brady kids were set to appear, but it is likely that Eve Plumb and/or Maureen McCormick both backed out because of their little feud. Originally McCormick was not set to appear, but was penciled in late this past week (and probably pissing Plumb off?) when Florence Henderson couldn't make it because she had to go to Michigan to film a movie. Just speculating the reason. Jerry Seinfeld will once again be promoting his upcoming series for NBC, this time on The Late Show with David Letterman, but I wouldn't doubt a Seinfeld mention. Letterman airs on CBS at 11:35pm ET/PT. Former child sitcom star-turned big star Regina King (227) will be on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am ET/PT to promote her TNT series. Cougar Town star Courtney Cox will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, check your local listings for time and channel. Cox's former Friends co-star Lisa Kudrow will be on ABC's The View on this day as well at 11:00am ET/10:00am PT to promote her new series that she is producing. And finally TV/sitcom legend Tim Conway stops by The Florence Henderson Show at 2pm ET on Retirement Living Television.
- On Thursday, March 4, all eyes are set on the 227 reunion on NBC's Today show. Scheduled to appear are Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams, Jackee Harry, Curtis Baldwin and even Regina King (she has become a major star on film and television)! As of now, we only have word that the reunion will take place sometime in the 8am ET or 9am ET hour. Jerry Seinfeld will also appear on the Today show to promote his new series he is producing. Former sitcom child star Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time) will be a guest co-host on ABC's The View on this day, so she will be on the entire show! 11am ET/10am PT on ABC. Also, RLTV will be airing a repeat of The Florence Henderson Show at 10pm ET & 1am ET featuring best-of interviews with TV/sitcom legends including Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett!
- On Friday, March 5, Lisa Kudrow appears on NBC's Today show to promote her new series she is producing for NBC that launches later that night.
Liked it? This was just a test run and we will slowly improve it based on your comments and such. But for now something like this will appear on the blog every Friday right after our regular news! Hope you find this useful! Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Nick at Nite March 2010 Has Luck 'o the Lopez; Many New Retroality.TV Updates
Glenn Martin DDS, the first television production to come out of Michael Eisner's Tornante Animation Company, continues to air on Nick at Nite on Monday nights at 8pm. An all-new episode will air Monday, March 8 at 8pm titled "Vegas Strip."
Finally, the annual Kids' Choice Awards will air on Nickelodeon on Saturday, Mach 27, 2010 from 8pm-9:30pm followed by the premiere of the new comedy Victorious. Kevin James hosts the annual awards shows and it will also encore on Nick at Nite from 10pm-11:30pm. As for Victorious, it is a comedy series starring Victoria Justice as Tori Vega, a girl who has grown up in the shadow of her older sister, Trina, a singer/performer who's always been the "star" of the family. Although Tori is an amazing singer, dancer, and actress, she doesn't know it yet. As she tries to navigate the rough waters of her new performing arts high school, Hollywood Arts, she finds new friends, new enemies, and learns that fitting in may be much harder than getting in.
View more and discuss Nick at Nite March 2010.
Chris Mann has many new cool updates on his Retroality.TV website for us all! He covered The Hollywood Show celebrity autograph convention the weekend of Feb. 13-14 and also did a story about it from the Los Angeles Times (his first L.A. Times feature!). It was back to the cul-de-sac as the Knots Landing cast reunited at the Hollywood Show autograph festival on Feb. 13-14 at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. In off-camera interviews, Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills talk to Retroality's Chris Mann about the convention and their appearance in the Feb. 17 episode of Nip/Tuck. In this short video preview, Van Ark and Mills interact with fans and pose with co-stars Michelle Lee, Ted Shackelford and Kevin Dobson. Chris' interview with Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills also includes Joan also spilling on the Tiger Woods scandal and her brief turn on The Young and the Restless in 2004. View the interview with Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills. Retroality.TV is so popular that Daytime Confidential already picked up on Van Ark's comments on The Young and the Restless.
Chris also just posted video interviews with Blue Lagoon and Dallas star Christopher Atkins (who talks about his stint on VH1's Confessions of a Teen Idol last year) and Baywatch babe and Barker's Beauty Gena Lee Nolin (who also talks about her upcoming projects). Check out the Retroality.TV YouTube page for these goodies!
For March 2010, Chris has an exclusive Retroality.TV cover story with Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman)! She sat down with Chris for an hour after a long day signing photos, Bionic Woman lunchboxes and dolls, etc. at the Hollywood Show. Chris says she is delightful! You won't want to miss the cover story with Lindsay Wagner only at Retroality.TV!
And if that weren't enough, Chris is working hard with other stories for other publications! Chris has a new story for Muscle & Body with a round-up of Winter Olympian interviews (includes Eric Heiden) as well as a feature for WellBella with 24 co-star Annie Wersching. Next week, his March 2010 WellBella interview with Dexter star Julie Benz, who's now appearing on Desperate Housewives as a stunning ex-stripper, will go up. What a lucky guy! You won't want to miss that one! Check out all of these external stories on Retroality.TV! It is all linked there!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
NBC's Today Show Adds 227 Reunion Next Week on Great TV Families Reunited, Plus More On Other Reunions; Syfy Acquires Merlin for April 2010
Eight is Enough, The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch reunions are still happening March 1-3 on NBC's Today show. But a few changes are occuring on who will be appearing. On Monday, March 1, The Bradfords from Eight is Enough are reunited with Dick Van Patten, Laurie Walters, Connie Needham, Grant Goodeye, Dianne Kay, Willie Aames, and Betty Buckley all live in studio.
C'mon get happy with The Partridge Family reunion on Tuesday, March 2 featuring cast members Suzanne Crough, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, and Brian Forster live on set. Originally Shirley Jones was set to appear, but now Suzanne Crough will instead.
The Brady Bunch gang will be featured on Wednesday, March 3 with Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Maureen McCormick live from studio 1A. Originally Florence Henderson was set to appear, but now Maureen McCormick will instead.
So, 227 is joining these three classic TV family reunions! Child, that is great! But strange that both the Partridge and Brady mothers are now not appearing. Looks like it is a kids reunion of both of those families now. One other change, all of the reunions will take place sometime during the 8am and 9am hours of the Today show, instead of the 7am and 8am hours as reported earlier. So be prepared and there is nothing like watching TV reunions, child!
Syfy has acquired the basic cable rights from FremantleMedia Enterprises for all 26 episodes (2 seasons of 13 episodes) of the critically acclaimed series Merlin, including the United States television premiere of Season Two, which has never aired on American television. Merlin joins the Syfy primetime lineup in April 2010. There will be a marathon of the first season on Sunday, March 28 from 10am-11pm and again on Thursday, April 1 from 8am-8pm. The series starts with season two episodes in primetime on Friday, April 2 at 10pm airing Fridays at 10pm (with many encores during the week).
Season One of Merlin aired on NBC (Summer 2009), but it will not air there again due to low ratings. Both seasons 1 and 2 aired on BBC One in the UK (2008-09). BBC has commissioned a third season which will air in September 2010. FremantleMedia also handles brand licensing and home entertainment for Merlin.
An imaginative new twist on a timeless legend, Merlin is set in the mythical city of Camelot, before history began. It's a fantastical realm of legendary beasts and mysterious peoples, and a dangerous world where magic has been banned by the ruthless tyrant, Uther Pendragon. The series stars Colin Morgan as Merlin, Bradley James as Prince Arthur, Anthony Head as King Uther, Richard Wilson as Gaius, Katie McGrath as Morgana and Angel Coulby as Gwen.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Centric Acquires The A-Team; Two and a Half Men Production Temporarily Shut
Other TV series still airing on Centric are Soul Train on weekdays at 12 noon, 5pm & 12 midnight; The Steve Harvey Show on weekdays from 1-2pm; American Gangster weekdays at 10pm & 1am; and Homicide: Life on the Street has been relegated to just weekdays at 4am. There are also reality series from other Viacom networks encoring.
The A-Team will get a launch marathon this weekend - Saturday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. The marathon on Saturday will air from 12pm-6pm and encore on Sunday from 9am-3pm with the same episodes. The series didn't start off with the two-part pilot "Mexican Slayride" when it joined the network on Monday, instead it started off with the episode after the pilot "Pros and Cons." The series is going in production order, rather than airdate order.
Remember, if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire The A-Team!
Joint statement from Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment; Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television; and Chuck Lorre, Creator/Executive Producer of Two and a Half Men:
"CBS, Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre support Charlie Sheen in his decision today to begin voluntary in-patient care at a treatment center. We wish him nothing but the best as he deals with this personal matter. Production on Two and a Half Men will be temporarily suspended."So just for how long? Reports are that he will take a two week break. As of now only one taping has been canceled and that is for this Friday's taping. It is likely the following Friday's (March 5) taping will be canceled as well. The series is in its 7th season and has a 24 episode order, but not sure how this temporary suspension will effect the 24 episode order. Episodes 16 and 17 of the 7th season are scheduled to air on Monday, March 1 and 8. A repeat is scheduled to air on March 15, but that was planned. Reports are 18 episodes have been taped so far, but this is unconfirmed. Stay with us for any further updates!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
TV Land April 2010 Has 8th Annual TV Land Awards; FX Renews Archer for Second Season
Now we can move on to TV Land April 2010! As of now, there are no regular schedule changes. TV Land will continue to air original series First Love, Second Chance on Wednesdays at 10pm through April 14, when it will have its season finale. So the Wednesday schedule for April 21 and April 28 will change a bit, with Everybody Loves Raymond taking the 10pm hour and Home Improvement taking the 8pm hour. On Wednesdays only it was Raymond in the 8pm hour, so it could still have its two-hour block (8-10pm instead of 9-11pm). That is likely just for a few weeks, as in May, TV Land will start the second season of How'd You Get So Rich. Stay with us for that.
On Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 9pm, TV Land presents the 8th Annual TV Land Awards! Get a good seat as the stars arrive! The 8th Annual TV Land Awards roll out the red carpet to honor the best of TV, movies and music. All your favorite classic and contemporary stars come together one night to celebrate and honor the wonder of TV. This year's show is going to be another unforgettable evening of laughter, tribute, remembrance and celebration, honoring the best shows and brightest stars. Stay with us for details in the coming weeks, including who will be hosting!
Friday Night PRIME movies for April 2010 are premieres of Footloose and Pretty in Pink, and with encores of St. Elmo's Fire and The Fugitive.
I suggest you view the full TV Land April 2010 schedule, so you see what is on and what one-time adjustments are made. Adjustments include a Three's Company morning marathon on Sunday, April 18 from 8am-12pm and sitcom marathons on Sunday, April 25 leading into the TV Land Awards.
FX has given the go ahead for a second season of its critically acclaimed animated comedy series Archer. The network increased the episode order to 13 for season two, which is scheduled to debut in 2011. FX ordered 10 episodes for its first season.
Archer (TV-MA) has still three new episodes slated for air this season. Through seven episodes the series is averaging 1.2 million total viewers, 853,000 adults 18-49 and 573,000 adults 18-34. This Thursday, February 25, FX will air the "Four-Play Marathon," four episodes of Archer from 10 PM to midnight ET. Archer will return with new episodes on Thursday, March 4 at 10 PM and the season-one finale airs on March 18 at 10 PM.
Archer was one of three comedy pilots shot by FX in 2009 to receive a series order, along with The League and Louie (premieres in June). The League recently received a second-season order and it returns this summer for 13 episodes. FX's acclaimed hit series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for a sixth season this summer with 14 episodes.
Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. The series features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as suave master spy "Sterling Archer"; Jessica Walter as his domineering mother and boss, "Malory Archer"; Aisha Tyler as his ex-girlfriend and current co-worker, "Agent Lana Kane"; George Coe as his aging-but-loyal butler, "Woodhouse"; Chris Parnell as ISIS comptroller and Lana's new love interest, "Cyril Figgis"; Judy Greer as Malory's lovesick secretary, "Cheryl"; and Amber Nash as "Pam," the director of human resources for ISIS.
Monday, February 22, 2010
NBC's Today Show Reunites Greatest TV Families of All-Time Next Week (March 1-3); 2010 WGA Awards Winner
Monday, March 1 - Eight Is Enough: Dick Van Patten, Willie Aames, Grant Goodeve, Betty Buckley, Laurie Walters, Connie Needham, and Dianne Kay.
Tuesday, March 2 - The Partridge Family: Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce, and Brian Forster.
Wednesday, March 3 - The Brady Bunch: Barry Williams, Susan Olsen, Eve Plumb, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Florence Henderson.
If there is any more new information, we will bring it to you right away, so stay with us!
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced the winners of the 2010 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, and videogame writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
We will of course only cover the television portion. The winners are in BOLD.
DRAMA SERIES
* Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, George Mastras, J. Roberts, John Shiban, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
* Dexter, Written by Scott Buck, Charles H. Eglee, Lauren Gussis, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattmann, Wendy West; Showtime
* Friday Night Lights, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Ron Fitzgerald, Brent Fletcher, Etan Frankel, Jason Gavin, Elizabeth Heldens, David Hudgins, Rolin Jones, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Derek Santos Olson, John Zinman; NBC
* LOST, Written by Carlton Cuse, Adam Horowitz, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Edward Kitsis, Damon Lindelof, Greggory Nations, Kyle Pennington, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Brian K. Vaughan, Paul Zbyszewski; ABC
* Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC
COMEDY SERIES
* 30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC
* Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Larry David; HBO
* Glee, Written by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy; Fox
* Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC
* The Office, Written by Jennifer Celotta, Danny Chun, Greg Daniels, Lee Eisenberg, Anthony Q. Farrell, Brent Forrester, Daniel J. Goor, Charlie Grandy, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Koh, Lester Lewis, Paul Lieberstein, Warren Lieberstein, BJ Novak, Michael Schur, Aaron Shure, Justin Spitzer, Gene Stupnitsky, Halsted Sullivan; NBC
NEW SERIES
* Glee, Written by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy; Fox
* The Good Wife, Written by Angela Amato Velez, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Ted Humphrey, Dee Johnson, Todd E. Kessler, Michelle King, Robert King; CBS
* Hung, Written by Colette Burson, Ellie Herman, Emily Kapnek, Brett C. Leonard, Dmitry Lipkin, Angela Robinson; HBO
* Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC
* Nurse Jackie, Written by Taii K. Austin, Liz Brixius, Rick Cleveland, Evan Dunsky, Nancy Fichman, Liz Flahive, Jennifer Hoppe, Mark Hudis, John Hilary Shepherd, Linda Wallem, Christine Zander; Showtime
EPISODIC DRAMA – any length – one airing time
* "Broken, Part 1 and Part 2" (House), Written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner & David Foster & David Shore; Fox
* "Come, Ye Saints" (Big Love), Written by Melanie Marnich; HBO
* "The Grown Ups" (Mad Men), Written by Brett Johnson and Matthew Weiner; AMC
* "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" (Mad Men), Written by Robin Veith and Matthew Weiner; AMC
* "I Will Rise Up" (True Blood), Written by Nancy Oliver; HBO
* "Phoenix" (Breaking Bad), Written by John Shiban; AMC
EPISODIC COMEDY – any length – one airing time (**TIE**)
* "Apollo, Apollo" (30 Rock), Written by Robert Carlock; NBC
* "Broke" (The Office), Written by Charles Grandy; NBC
* "Chapter 1" (Eastbound & Down), Written by Ben T. Best & Jody L. Hill & Danny McBride; HBO
* "Gossip" (The Office), Written by Paul Lieberstein; NBC
* "Pilot" (Modern Family), Written by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd; ABC
* "Reunion" (30 Rock), Written by Matt Hubbard; NBC
View the rest of the winners for the television portion.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Week 22 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
(We don't have the final network averages through Thursday AGAIN (sorry), 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 22 (Feb. 15-21) Analysis: For week 22, thus far through the first four nights it is atypical week because NBC is dominating all thanks to the Winter Olympics. So far through the first four days of the week I can project, NBC is first across the board, with Fox in second. CBS is third in HH/viewers, but fourth in 18-49, as ABC is the opposite of that, third in 18-49 but fourth in HH/viewers. Last week, week 21, NBC took home first place in every category obviously thanks to three nights of the Olympics (prior to those three nights they were 4th). CBS was second in HH/viewers, but third in 18-49. Fox was third in HH/viewers, but second in 18-49. ABC was in fourth across the board.
On Monday it was all Olympics as most programming was in repeats. NBC's coverage of the primetime portion of the Olympics did 25.54 million from 8-11pm and 25.22 million overall from 8pm-11:16pm. CBS was in repeats with its comedies and CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 5.75 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating for a repeat, while a repeat of Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 5.47 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. Two and a Half Men followed with a repeat as well doing 10.61 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating and The Big Bang Theory followed with a repeat of its own doing 10.09 million and it built from the lead-in in 18-49 from a 3.3 to a 3.6. A 3.6 for a repeat is outstanding these days. A repeat of CSI: Miami at 10pm did 8.38 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, not too good. ABC started it off with an all-new The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love doing a solid 11.53 million, but it didn't go up from previous week for the first time this season in viewers, though it did do the same 4.1 18-49 rating for the third straight week--impressive since the Olympics were on! A repeat of Castle was next and did a 5.69 million, could be better but it was a third-run of an episode already. Castle returns with new episodes on March 8. Fox started off with a repeat of House doing 6.8 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating. A new episode of 24 was next doing 8.58 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, both down a lot from previous week due to no new House and the Olympics on opposite it. NBC will return Chuck on March 1, and the new night premiere of Law & Order also launches that night. The CW aired an all-new One Tree Hill doing a could be better 1.86 million, down from previous week, followed by an all-new episode of Life UneXpected at 1.8 million, down a bit from previous week again.
On Tuesday, Fox won and beat the Olympics on NBC. Fox of course started with an all-new American Idol with 23.92 million, down four million or so from previous week when it was an hour long episode, as this was a two-hour episode. It did a mammoth 9.2 18-49 rating, down a whole point from previous week. The Winter Olympics on NBC were next doing 20.46 million in primetime and 20.33 million from 8-11:24pm. 5.5 18-49 rating is good, but it got clobbered by Idol. CBS started with a repeat of NCIS doing 11.66 million, seems a bit below its usual repeat numbers. Then spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was next with a repeat of its own doing 9.13 million, but only a 1.8 18-49 rating...the lead-in was 2.4 And finally CBS aired a repeat of The Good Wife doing 7.74 million and only a 1.4 8-49 rating. ABC started off with a LOST enhanced encore doing 4.2 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. Then an all-new episode of the final season of LOST was next with 9.82 million, down a bit over a million from the previous week (as expected against Idol and the Olympics) but it still did an excellent 4.5 18-49 rating, off from previous week's 5.0. We found out about the numbers! What will we find out this week? ABC aired a new episode of the forgotten at 10pm and did a so-so 4.97 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating...down a million from previous week, like its lead-in. NBC will return two-hour The Biggest Loser episodes on March 2 and the premiere of Parenthood will follow it. The CW aired repeats of 90210 and Melrose Place doing only 760,000 and 620,000 viewers...down some from previous week's repeats. Did you know they are re-airing all the new episodes in order since its last new episode before they returns with new episodes in March?
Wednesday this time the Olympics took revenge and beat Idol. The Winter Olympics did a mammoth 29.29 million in primetime and 29.42 million overall from 8pm-11:17pm. 8.9 rating in 18-49 was number one for the night. Fox started with Human Target at 8pm at just 7.21 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down over a million from previous week. American Idol was next at 9pm and it did its lowest ratings in quite a while doing 18.63 million, that's down nearly 7 million from previous week, ouch! But still good. 18-49 rating was down from 9.5 to 7.0 as well. Taking a hit to a 7.0 is hilarious, any other show would kill for that now. CBS started at 8pm with repeats of its comedies Old Christine and Gary Unmarried doing 4.74 million and 4.29 million, losing to the ABC comedies which were also repeats. Next CBS aired a repeat of Criminal Minds at 7.91 million and a repeat of CSI: NY at 10pm did 7.97 million. ABC comedies were next with a repeat of Modern Family at 8pm doing 5.03 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, followed by a repeat episode of The Middle doing 4.59 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. Modern Family was a repeat in its normal 9pm slot and did an 4.36 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. A special repeat of The Middle was next doing 3.19 million and only a 1.2 18-49 rating. Next Cougar Town was in repeats in the 10pm hour doing only 3.1 and 2.68 million. Ugly Betty was preempted, but a repeat of that would have done worse at 10pm. NBC will return Mercy and Law & Order: SVU on March 3. The CW aired more repeats as Life UneXpected did 1.25 million, down some from previous week, and then a repeat of Gossip Girl followed and only did 570,000 viewers, bad and down some from previous week.
Thursday it was the Olympics with the win again. NBC's coverage of the Olympics were down from the previous night, but still did 24.78 million and a 7.0 18-49 rating through 11:31pm ET. CBS started with a new Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains doing 11.97 million and 3.9 18-49 rating, down about 3 million from previous week. CBS aired The Mentalist at a special time of 9pm for a repeat doing 8.81 million, as a CSI repeat aired at 10pm doing 7.96 million. Why the switcharoo? Maybe CBS is mulling a change or they just didn't want the ratings to count in the season average, thus switching the timeslots. ABC started off with a new The Deep End at only 4.26 million, down from previous week and the 18-49 rating went from a 1.5 to 1.1...series lows. A new episode of Grey's Anatomy was next and perked up to 10.27 million, down two million from previous week, as it looks like the Olympics hurt it some, even the 18-49 rating went fro ma 4.4 to a 3.7. Thankfully it was pretty much a standalone episode. A new Private Practice was next doing 7.59 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, both down some from previous week. Fox had a repeat of Bones doing 5.77 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, down a lot from previous week's repeat. A new Past Life did only 3.5 million, down nearly two million from previous week. Only a 1.1 18-49 rating, too. Fox has pulled the show after this airing, look for Kitchen Nightmares now starting this week. NBC will return Community , Parks & Recreation and The Office on March 4, while 30 Rock returns the week after. At 10pm NBC will launch reality series The Marriage Ref on March 4. The CW aired a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing 1.66 million and Supernatural was a repeat and did 1.55 million.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but NBC won Friday with the Winter Olympics, as the other networks aired repeats again.
Saturday numbers saw NBC win the night of course with more Winter Olympics coverage opposite repeats, though Fox did pretty close to normal numbers with its crime reality series.
Tonight it is more Winter Olympics coverage for NBC that will make them win the night. ABC's regular line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are all-new, but might take a bit of a hit thanks to the Olympics. Watch these shows! CBS has a new The Amazing Race and Undercover Boss. I hope the latter loses to Desperate Housewives. Fox has a mix of new and repeats of their animated comedies and new episodes of 'Til Death. NBC will win the week in all categories because of the Winter Olympics. Fox will be second across the board, with CBS in third but there will be a battle for third in 18-49 between CBS and ABC. ABC will likely have to settle for 4th in HH/viewers. As for this coming week, look for the last week of Winter Olympics on NBC causing more repeats on other nets, but there will be plenty of new airings of series such as LOST, Desperate Housewives, and American Idol opposite it!
Week 22 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 21-- Feb. 8-14)
- 'Til Death (Fox) - preempted because of NASCAR overrun.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 5.85 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating opposite the Olympics.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Just 4.87 million for a new episode but the competition was high thanks to the Olympics. 2.4 18-49 rating is OK.
- Family Guy (Fox) - Jumped to 6.44 million for a new episode, but below normal of course. Even the 18-49 rating of 3.3 is below normal, but still the best of the block.
- American Dad (Fox) - 5.25 million for a new episode, retention is still the same as usual. 2.5 18-49 rating could be better out of a 3.3.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.75 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating for a repeat opposite the Olympics. Good.
- Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 5.47 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating for a repeat. Good retention from the lead-in.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 10.61 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating for a repeat. That is good for a new episode even.
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 10.09 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating for a repeat. I wonder if it could build on the viewers for tomorrow's repeat? 18-49 building is a given now.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- None.
- Old Christine (CBS) - 4.74 million for a repeat and only a 1.3 18-49 rating, both losing to the competing ABC comedy repeat.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 4.29 million for a repeat and a 1.4 18-49 rating, both losing to the competing ABC comedy repeat.
- The Middle (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 8:30pm following a repeat of Modern Family did 4.59 million and a decent (for a repeat) 1.7 18-49 rating. A special 9:30pm repeat did not do as well doing only 3.19 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating.
- Modern Family (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 8pm did 5.03 million and a 1.8 14-49 rating, not bad at all. The regular 9pm airing was also a repeat this time and did 4.36 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating...not bad.
- Cougar Town (ABC) 2 airings - Two repeats aired at a special time of 10pm & 10:30pm doing 3.1 and 2.68 million. Not good, but it is only repeats.
Thursday Sitcoms
- Community (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- The Office (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - preempted for Olympics.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are new episodes of 'Til Death at 7 on Fox followed by a mix of new and repeats of the Fox animated comedies starting at 8.
Summing it up. All repeats. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family 8pm, How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose repeats were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Modern Family 9pm, The Middle 8:30 repeats) or just plain old terrible (such as The Middle 9:30, Cougar Town 10pm hour repeats).
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Blog DVD Review: FLASHFORWARD - Season One, Part One (2/23)
FLASHFORWARD - Season One, Part One (ABC Studios, $29.99) brings the first 10 episodes from the first season of the riveting new ABC drama! The series premiered on ABC on September 24, 2009. It is loosely based on the 1999 novel Flashforward by Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer. In the series, a mysterious event causes nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, during which people see what appear to be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future (on April 29, 2010) --a global "flashforward." A team of Los Angeles FBI agents begin the process of determining what happened, why, and whether it will happen again.
The series stars Joseph Fiennes as FBI Special Agent Mark Benford, John Cho as FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Dr. Lloyd Simcoe, Zachary Knighton as Dr. Bryce Varley, Peyton List as Nicole Kirby, Dominic Monaghan as Dr. Simon Campos, BrÃan F. O'Byrne as Aaron Stark, Courtney B. Vance as FBI Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck, Sonya Walger as Dr. Olivia Benford, and Christine Woods as FBI Special Agent Janis Hawk. Recurring are Gabrielle Union as Zoey Andata, Lee Thompson Young as FBI Special Agent Al Gough, Barry Shabaka Henley as FBI Special Agent Vreede, Ryan Wynott as Dylan Simcoe, Lennon Wynn as Charlie Benford, and Genevieve Cortese as Tracy Stark.
We get the first 10 episodes of the series on this 2-disc set. We are waiting for the return on ABC on March 18 for the second half (12 episodes) of the season. I cannot wait for the return! But before the return, I'll let you know the memorable episodes of the first 10 episodes. You need to watch them all in order of course, but of course some episodes are better than others. In the premiere episode "No More Good Days," the series opens on a seemingly ordinary day, which soon becomes extraordinary as everyone in Los Angeles blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds--in one of the best pilots on television since the premiere of LOST in 2004. In "137 Sekunden," Mark and Janis travel to Munich, Germany to speak with an imprisoned Nazi who claims to have knowledge about why the blackout lasted exactly 137 seconds, and an anonymous tip leads Demetri to believe his deepest fears about his future. In "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps," Mark, Demetri, and Wedeck try to find a connection between Janis' attack and a separate attack made on them, meanwhile as Halloween approaches, Olivia confronts Mark about his alleged drinking in his flashforward. In a character-driven episode "Believe," Bryce travels to Japan to search for the woman he saw in his flashforward, meanwhile Aaron becomes concerned over Tracy's odd behavior and excessive drinking since her return from Afghanistan, while his friendship with Mark hits a snag when Mark attempts to track down the person responsible for texting Olivia about how he was drunk in his flashforward. And in the fall finale, "A561984," against Wedeck's orders, Mark and Demetri travel to Hong Kong in search of the woman claiming to know details of Demetri's fate and he learns that his killer-to-be is a lot closer to home than he could ever have imagined, while Demetri's fiancee discovers the true meaning of her flashforward; meanwhile Lloyd tries to come clean about his and Simon's involvement in the global blackout -- against Simon's better judgment and Olivia is involved in a shocking incident as Lloyd's son is discharged from the hospital.
Guest starring are Gina Torres, Peter Coyote, and Shohreh Aghdashloo as the mysterious woman.
Packaging has an outer box holding a case inside. The cover art for both the box and case are the same -- we have eleven headshots of the stars surrounding a globe where we see a vision of everyone in the world's flashforward. The globe looks like a disco ball, though. The packaging also states "The First 10 Episodes," along with Season One Part One." There is also four stars on the top from the NY Daily News. The color scheme is purple I guess. The back cover for both the box and case has tons of information on the series & set and a list of bonus features, along with a few episodic photos. Inside the case we go, disc one is on a black plastic holder that we can turn like a page on a book. Disc two is placed on the right panel itself. There is no artwork on the inside of the case, so it is plain black. We also have an insert saying how we can save $15 on the complete first season DVD coming to DVD/Blu-ray in August 2010. Download your coupon at FlashForward-DVD.com. It is unfortunate we do not get a nice disc-by-disc breakdown of episodes on the packaging or a booklet. I hope we do get that when the full first season DVD comes out in August. Disc one holds episodes 1-5 and disc two holds episodes 6-10 and the the special features. The artwork for both discs is the same -- the show logo, season 1, disc number, and episode numbers with a shot of the sea in a sunset.
The menu screen is very cool. It is LOST-like. We can hear lines from the show, while the clips play on the left side. On the right side, we see the show logo and the menu options in a slanted form. The menu options are Setup, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Play All. Bonus Features option is on disc two only. Everything else is on each disc. Setup gives us the option to register your DVD and to turn on subtitles in English, French or Espanol. Episode Selection menu has a list of episodes with episode number and title. Each of these submenus have background music from the series playing in the background of these menus. Auto previews are playing before the menu comes on disc one such as for the Prince of Persia, LOST S5 and Everybody's Fine.
The video and audio is superb, as it should be since it is a series that is airing this season. The video is in widescreen and for those DVD players that upconvert it to 1080i, it is just like watching it on ABC HD! It looks so clear and crisp! The audio is perfect as well. Honestly, any current series should have no problem in video and audio. It is expected to be like this. Each episode runs approx. 43 minutes, of course unedited. The second episode has about 4 minutes of more material. See the runtimes below. There are about 7-9 chapter stops per episode, but in weird spots and different positions each time. The second episode has the "Previously on ABC's FLASHFORWARD" recap and every episode after that has the more familiar "On October 6, the whole world blacked-out..."
Disc One
1. No More Good Days (42:57)
2. White to Play (47:04)
3. 137 Sekunden (43:00)
4. Black Swan (43:40)
5. Gimme Some Truth (42:55)
Disc Two
6. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps (43:03)
7. The Gift (42:55)
8. Playing Cards with Coyote (42:45)
9. Believe (43:06)
10. A561984 (42:06)
Moving on to the bonus features, I'm surprised we have some. The bonus features are all on disc two. Since this is really just a half-season set, I was not expecting any at all, but the quantity is low compared to other ABC sets, which is understandable. I bet they will unload so many extras on the complete first season set in August. Anyway, for the first bonus we get "Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout" (7:05). This is a nice featurette from the crew showing us how the opening action scene were done in the first episode. It is really cool to see! The magic of Hollywood! Commenting here are David Goyer (co-creator/executive producer/writer/director), Danny Weselis (stunt coordinator), Brannon Braga (co-creator/executive producer/writer), Jessika Borsiczky (executive producer), Allen Hale (special effects supervisor), Michelle Lathan (location manager), Kevin Blank (visual effects supervisor), Ken Niederbaumer (special makeup effects) and Todd Masters (special makeup effects).
The next bonus material is "FLASHFORWARD: A Look Ahead," and it looks at the next episode with a few scenes from episode 11. We get 4:47 worth of scenes from the next episode. I cannot wait to see the episode! It airs March 18 at 8/7 central on ABC! Be there!
And finally the last bonus feature is a promo titled "Could." It is narrated by Dominic Monaghan and you've seen this promo on ABC for the return on March 18, but this is longer as it runs 90 seconds.
I of course highly do recommend everyone to pick up this set. And if you never have watched the show, now is your chance to get started because we have less than a month remaining before the series returns for the second half of its season. And if you missed an episode or two, get this set and catch up and watch the show LIVE on Thursday, March 18. If you love the show, then please support it by watching it on TV...or you are not helping the show at all. I was hooked from the start after watching the pilot episode and I am anxiously waiting for the return. This and the series V were clearly the best two new dramas of the season, and both return to ABC in March. The complete first season DVD is out in August, so if you've seen every episode and will watch on TV starting March 18, then you really don't need this DVD unless you want a refresher. If not, then wait for the first season DVD in August. If you've never seen this show...get this DVD NOW! And catch up in time for the return on March 18 and watch it on TV. Because six months from now, I can see the entire world watching this show instead of blacking out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds! My flashforward says this show will get better and better! So keep watching!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
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Official Website
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Ellen Show Sitcom on WealthTV; Remembering Caroline McWilliams of Benson
The final episode, entitled "One for the Roadshow," has Ellen pondering her riches as she takes an old, unopened and mint condition Monopoly game to the Collectibles Roadshow. Ellen is offered $10,000 for the unopened game. Yet later that evening, Ellen is stunned when she finds that her mom has a Monopoly board all set up for them to play! The episode will be making its television premiere on WealthTV Wednesday, March 3.
Don't remember this show? Don't be confused with Ellen's hit sitcom Ellen which aired on ABC and her current daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This show aired on CBS in 2001-2002 before getting canceled to low ratings. Before her daytime talk show made her the darling of critics and the public alike, Emmy Award winner Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen) starred in The Ellen Show, as Ellen Richmond, a dot-com exec who trades the stresses of big-city life for the slower pace of her old hometown. Yet it remains to be seen whether returning to the fishbowl of Clark is really such a good idea, especially for someone who's grown accustomed to the pace of big-city life. Warmly welcomed by her eccentric mother, Dot (Oscar winner Cloris Leachman, The Last Picture Show), and her scatterbrained sister, Catherine (Emily Rutherfurd), Ellen is persuaded by her high school teacher (Martin Mull) to take a job as the school's guidance counselor. In trading her dreams of being a successful entrepreneur for a return to her roots, she faces starting over at home in a quintessential American small town.
Check out the WealthTV website to see if your area has this network.
Caroline McWilliams, accomplished actress and director best known for her role on the ABC '80s sitcom Benson, passed away peacefully at her home in LA last Thursday (February 11, 2010).
Her career included numerous feature television roles, starting with her breakthrough role as Janet Mason on Guiding Light and followed by regular roles on Benson, Nearly Departed, and Beverly Hills 90210. On Benson she played Marcy Hill, the Governor's sectary, during the series' first few seasons (1979-81). She also recurred on Benson's parent show SOAP but as a different character - as Sally - the secretary for Richard Mulligan's character Burt. Her other TV credits include guest stints on Another World, Barney Miller, Kojak, Quincy ME, The Incredible Hulk, Hill Street Blues, Night Court, St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey, The Cavanaughs, Sisters, Home Improvement, Suddenly Susan, Lois & Clark, Murphy Brown, and Judging Amy (her last role). During her time on Benson, she appeared on the primetime version of Family Feud with the cast of Benson going up against the cast of One Day at a Time and she also appeared on The Battle of the Network Stars in 1980 on the ABC Team.
She will be deeply missed, especially by fans of Guiding Light in the '70s, Benson and SOAP. Caroline was only 64 years old.
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
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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