Sunday, March 06, 2011
Week 24 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2010-11 Week 24 TV Ratings (first four nights averages, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 24 (Feb. 28-March 6) Analysis: Week 24 has again Fox winning across the board for the first four night and why wouldn't they as they had 3 nights (5 hours) of Idol. The first four nights network averages were not made available again to us in time for this post, but we can once again project Fox is winning across the board. CBS is in second, while ABC is in third and NBC is way back in fourth across the board. Fox should have no problem winning the week as the lead is too big to overcome. Everyone else should remain as is, too. Last week, week 23, had ABC win the week over CBS in HH/viewers thanks to the Oscars but it was Fox who edged ABC in 18-49 even with the Oscars. CBS was third in 18-49, while Fox was third in HH/viewers. And NBC had a terrible week again in fourth place.
Monday saw ABC with the win beating Fox. ABC started with The Bachelor doing 11.33 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, for another season high. Season finale is next week, as tomorrow will be The Women Tell All special. Dancing with the Stars Season 12 starts March 21. At 10pm ABC concluded the special two-part Castle with part two doing 10.11 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, up from previous week again. This show is a must watch. CBS was almost all-new with its comedies and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, a new How I Met Your Mother started it off with 9.24 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. At 8:30, new series Mad Love did 7.9 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, down some again from previous week and still means lower than any Rules of Engagement airing in the slot this season. Two and a Half Men followed with a REPEAT again, as it will be repeats for the rest of the season now thanks to Charlie Sheen's antics, doing 11.63 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which is up some from previous week. Amazing, but won't keep it up much longer. At 9:30, Mike & Molly was new and did 11.54 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which was up a bit from previous week, A REPEAT of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm, yes a repeat in sweeps (HUH?) did 7.31 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. CBS foolishly wasted some airings earlier this season (second December airing, post-AFC Championship airing) and now was forced to air a repeat in sweeps. Fox was all-new with House doing 11.01 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, up from previous week. A new Chicago Code followed at 9pm with 8.04 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Fox will take these numbers if it remains here, but it is doing similar to Lie to Me--which will return? NBC started its night with a new Chuck doing 5.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week once again. At 9pm, the struggling The Cape did 4.1 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par also from previous week. At 10pm, a new Harry's Law did 9.2 million but just a 1.8 18-49 rating for third place, even lower than the CBS repeat. The CW was new with 90210 doing 1.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Gossip Girl followed with a new episode doing 1.39 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week.
Tuesday had Fox come in and win with a special Tuesday airing of you know what. But first CBS started with a new NCIS and did 19.21 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, sharply down from previous week. NCIS: Los Angeles followed with a new episode and did 15.67 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, also down big from previous week. The Good Wife did well in total viewers with 11.38 million but only a 2.2 18-49 rating, but oddly up a bit from previous week. It seems it is not a match for the 8-10pm dramas and could be better fit on another night. For ABC, No Ordinary Family was all-new in the 8pm hour and suffered with Idol on doing 4.26 million and only a 1.2 18-49 rating, for a series low. At 9, V was new and the first half faced the juggernaut and did 5.04 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week. Detroit 1-8-7 was preempted for A Special Edition of 20/20 - Charlie Sheen: In His Own Words and did a solid 9.32 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, winning its hour quite easily. Could have been higher even if Sheen didn't ramble on everywhere. Fox preempted Glee and aired a special Tuesday edition of Idol and it did 21.39 million and a 7.6 18-49 rating for 90-minutes, which is way better than Glee. Next Fox disappointed with Raising Hope at a special time of 9:30pm and did 8.68 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which is a series high but coming out of the big lead-in, it could have been better. New comedy Traffic Light was preempted but aired Wednesday instead. NBC aired a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 7.06 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which was down from previous week thanks to Idol. Then at 10pm, Parenthood did 5.03 million and a third place 1.9 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week when it was first place. It's a weak hour with a big boost from Sheen to win it. That's winning! The CW was new with One Tree Hill doing 1.59 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down from previous week. Next at 9pm was a new episode of Hellcats and that did 1.46 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week.
Wednesday was the last night of February sweeps and had American Idol cut to 90-minutes but still easily won the night. Idol did 22.77 million and a 7.8 18-49 rating, basically on par with previous week. A special airing of Traffic Light followed with series best 7.32 million and a 2.8 18-49, but wasn't that expected since it was so low already? Still could have been way better than this. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Redemption Island doing 11.32 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which was up some actually from previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next with a new episode doing 14.37 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, jumping from previous week and especially in the 9:30pm half-hour. At 10pm, week three of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior did 10.36 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week, but SVU was a repeat...yes for the last night of February sweeps. What is this? ABC had its Laugh On comedy block and had a new The Middle open the night with a solid 7.86 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week. Then at 8:30, a new Better With You did 5.67 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth previous week, but could be better. It's preempted the next few weeks as repeats will be on a lot in March. Then ABC aired a new Modern Family at 9pm doing 10.11 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week as it faced Idol head-to-head again this week and this time the final half-hour. Then at 9:30, Mr. Sunshine was new with 6.87 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week as it didn't face Idol this week. Was expecting a bit more, but didn't bomb. Once again, Cougar Town will return with a special airing on Monday, April 18, and then return to Wednesdays starting April 20. Let the countdown begin for the cul-de-sac crew! At 10pm, a new episode of new drama Off the Map aired and did 4.96 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. NBC aired a repeat of Minute to Win It and did just 3.31 million and 0.9 18-49 rating followed by a new episode at just 3.49 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was next but was a repeat (during sweeps??) doing 5.36 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating. Might have helped the competing CBS crime drama a bit there. The CW had a new America's Next Top Model starting it off at 8pm doing only 1.96 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week. This show is getting killed by Fox and CBS' reality series. At 9pm, new reality series Shedding for the Wedding did only 1.07 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week.
Thursday saw once again Fox win the night, as Idol dominated with everything in repeats (except Rules of Engagement on CBS), as sweeps just ended. ABC opened the night with a repeat of Winter Wipeout doing 5.0 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. Then Grey's Anatomy was next with a repeat doing 3.98 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Private Practice was also a repeat and did 3.03 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating. CBS opened with a repeat of The Big Bang Theory and it did 9.12 million and a 2.5 A18-49 rating, decent for a repeat. Then an all-new Rules of Engagement was lower than $#*! My Dad Says doing 8.24 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down obviously from previous week. Next, CSI was a repeat and did 8.77 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. A repeat of The Mentalist did 10.43 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, skewing older than the lead-in even. OK so onto Fox, it was all American Idol as a two-hour airing did 25.26 million and a 8.2 18-49 rating, sharply up from previous week with no competition at all. No surprise. Fox preempted Bones again this week. NBC comedies were preempted for just one comedy all night...The Office repeats. The 8pm airing did 2.88 million/1.1 18-49 rating, followed by 2.9 million/1.3 18-49 rating, 3.13 million/1.5 18-49 rating, 3.09 million/1.5 18-49 rating, 2.98 million/1.4 18-49 rating and 2.63 million/1.2 18-49 rating. This show doesn't repeat well, so not sure what was the point. Community, Perfect Couples, The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock and Outsourced were not on as normal. The CW was next with a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing 1.13 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating. Then a repeat of Nikita did 1.11 million and just a 0.3 18-49 rating.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but Friday had NBC with a rare win with Charlie Sheen-fueled Dateline winning at 10pm. Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe were preempted for Fox for the NAACP Awards which was dead last. Saturday had Fox easily win with its normal crime reality series with everyone else way behind in 18-49.
Tonight ABC is all-new with AFV, Secret Millionaire, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters as Secret Millionaire makes its ABC premiere for six straight weeks. NBC has the premiere of America's Next Great Restaurant & two-hour Celebrity Apprentice starting at 8 following Dateline at 7. CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new The Amazing Race at 8 and new episodes of Undercover Boss & CSI: Miami from 9-11pm. Fox is all-new too with Animation Domination starting at 7:30pm. All-new night!
As for the week (week 24), Fox will win the week everywhere. Idol secured that for three nights, plus repeats on the other networks on Thursday. Everyone else will remain as they are through the first four nights, pending any huge surprises. And for the coming week (week 25), has mix of new and repeats, as NBC returns The Event tomorrow (will it be low still?).
Week 24 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 23 -- Feb. 21-27)
- American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat did 3.46 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which isn't too far off from an original the previous week.
- The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat in its normal 8pm slot did 4.85 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating. Earlier, a repeat at 7pm did 4.03 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat did 3.81 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A one-hour repeat did 4.32 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which seems below normal for a repeat but it faced the Oscars.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 9.24 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, basically on par with previous week. Seems a bit below normal though, but still good.
- Mad Love (CBS) - 7.9 million for week three and a 2.7 18-49 rating is down again some from previous week and yes still lower than any Rules of Engagement airing in this slot.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.63 million for a repeat and a 3.3 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. I expect these ratings to ware off soon, especially come next month and May, if it is still airing.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - 11.35 million for a new episode and a 18-49 rating of 3.4 is decent, up a bit from previous week, like its lead-in.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode at a special time of 9:30pm did 8.68 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating for series best, but it was after Idol and held only like 30% of its ratings. Not good.
- Traffic Light (Fox) - preempted and aired Wednesday.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new episode of this sitcom did 7.86 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week, again vs. Idol.
- Better with You (ABC) - A new episode of this series did 5.67 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth from previous week. It is the weak link of the block right now with Idol airing against it.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 10.11 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week as it went face-to-face with Idol again, this time the final half-hour.
- Mr. Sunshine (ABC) - A new episode did 6.87 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating up a bit from previous week as it was NOT against the final half-hour of Idol this week. Could have been better, but next two weeks will be a test to see how it does with repeats as its lead-ins.
- Traffic Light (Fox) - Obviously a series high after Idol doing 7.32 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, on a special night. Not good retention , but what can you do?
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A repeat did 9.12 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, solid for a second run.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A NEW episode did 8.24 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, for a season low and honestly $#*! My Dad Says was even better.
- Community (NBC) - preempted.
- Perfect Couples (NBC) - preempted.
- The Office (NBC) - A repeat marathon did bad: The 8pm airing did 2.88 million/1.1 18-49 rating, followed by 2.9 million/1.3 18-49 rating, 3.13 million/1.5 18-49 rating, 3.09 million/1.5 18-49 rating, 2.98 million/1.4 18-49 rating and 2.63 million/1.2 18-49 rating.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - preempted.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - preempted.
- Outsourced (NBC) - preempted.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm, but in repeats.
Summing it up. Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men (R) & The Big Bang Theory (R) were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as , Raising Hope, Rules of Engagement) or just plain old terrible (such as The Office (R), Traffic Light).
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Digital Digest: Pioneers of Television - Season 2 DVD Review
It's been a busy news week for Charlie Sheen, but for us, it hasn't been in the world of home media news. The world of DVD and Blu-ray gets a little slower each and every week, but that doesn't stop us from being here, no matter what! This week, we've got a review of the PBS series Pioneers of Television - Season 2, the series that gives a retrospective of the earliest days of television. Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
A few months ago, TMG released a two-disc set of the classic Betty White series Life With Elizabeth, but they aren't stopping there! Now, they are preparing a two-disc set of Betty White's other series from the 50s, Date with the Angels. The 12-episode set will be released on April 26 at a very low $9.98 MSRP.
A few weeks ago, Shout! Factory announced that they would be releasing the first season of the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberries. We didn't mention it because it is a bit beyond the scope of our website, but something that didn't catch our eye was this post from Brian Ward on the Shout! Factory Community message boards mentioning that other Nickelodeon series are in the works from Shout! Factory. Now, as to what they'll be or when they'll be announced, there is no telling, but hopefully this will include some sitcoms from the Nickelodeon library.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
DVD Review: Pioneers of Television - Season 2
by Todd Fuller
Pioneers of Television - Season 2 (PBS Direct, $24.99)
Nearly 100 stars from TV's formative years bring their stories to PBS in season two of the Emmy-nominated documentary series Pioneers of Television. Narrated by Kelsey Grammer, each episode melds compelling new interviews with irresistible archival clips to offer a fresh take on TV's founding celebrities. This season's four new episodes profile science fiction, crime dramas, local kids' shows, and westerns. Featured stars include James Garner, William Shatner, Angie Dickinson, Fess Parker, Linda Evans, Robert Conrad, Mike Connors, Leonard Nimoy, Bill Cosby, and many others.
These specials began in November 2005 on PBS with The Pioneers of Primetime which focused on vaudeville headliners, radio superstars and television legends. In 2008, four one-hour specials were made that profiled late night, sitcoms, variety and game shows. Season two premiered in January and February 2011 and took a look at science fiction, westerns, crime dramas and local kids' tv.
The cover art features a montage of black and white photos of James Arness, James Garner, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Angie Dickinson, Rod Serling, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford and Jim Henson. The episodes are presented in widescreen format. The recent interviews look excellent, but some of the vintage show clips vary in quality. The main menus features the same montage of black and white photos as the cover art. There are options for Episode Selection, Scene Selection and Set Up. Subtitles are available for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The set has a running time of approximately 220 minutes.
Here is the breakdown of the four episodes, including the original airdates and runtimes:
Science Fiction (01/18/11 - 55:09) - Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Nichelle Nichols reflect on the birth of Star Trek. Lost in Space is remembered by Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright. And a lost interview with Rod Sterling highlights a look at The Twilight Zone.
This episode focuses on three key science fiction series: Star Trek, Lost in Space and The Twilight Zone.. A surprising connection between Star Trek and Lost in Space is uncovered. Star Trek topics covered include Gene Roddenberry's story and the development of the show, William Shatner and how he was cast, Leonard Nimoy and the development of Spock's ears, and Nichelle Nichols and TV's first interracial kiss. Lost in Space topics include Irwin Allen's story and the development of the show, Jonathan Harris' portrayal of the Zachary Smith character, Irwin Allen's creation of The Time Tunnel, and the classic The Great Vegetable Rebellion episode. The Twilight Zone section details Rod Serling's early days, memorable episodes with guest stars William Shatner and Bill Mumy, Rod Serling's favorite episode, the special effects on the show, and the end of the show and Rod Serling's later projects. Others interviewed include Marta Kristen, Veronica Cartwright, Peter Graves, Lee Meriwether, Adam West and Martin Landau. Some bonus pioneering moments in science fiction are shown in the closing minutes.
Westerns (01/25/11 - 55:08) - James Garner (Maverick), Robert Conrad (Wild Wild West), and James Arness (Gunsmoke) are just three of the pioneers who talk about their experiences in this episode -- which also includes Linda Evans (Big Valley) and Fess Parker (Daniel Boone). Classics like Bonanza and The Rifleman are also featured.
From the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, there were more than 100 different western series. In the 1959 season alone, there were more than 30 on the schedule. Gunsmoke, Bonanza and The Rifleman are among the iconic series profiled in this episode. James Garner talks about how he never wanted to become an actor, how he was picked to play Bret Maverick on Maverick, and his later television roles. Sam Peckinpah created his first TV series, The Rifleman, in 1958 starring Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford. Mr. Peckinpah left after the first season. Bonanza topics include Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, and the lack of female characters on the show. The Big Valley would be the first western with a female in the lead role. Barbara Stanwyck played the matriarch of the Barkley family. Linda Evans played her daughter and offers a touching new perspective on her co-star.
Premiering the same season as The Big Valley, The Wild Wild West was one of the most unconventional westerns. Robert Conrad did many of his own stunts and details the on-set accident that cracked his skull. Gunsmoke's story details the casting of James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, the show's popularity over 20 seasons, and some of the show's other cast members including the break-out character of Chester played by Dennis Weaver. In the last interview with Fess Parker, the star of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, he talks about his effort to cast African-American guest stars at a time when that was rare. The High Chapparal featured Henry Darrow as Manolito Montoya and had Hispanic actors speaking in Spanish. Others interviewed include Robert Culp, Ed Ames, Linda Evans, Veronica Cartwright, Rosey Grier, Ernest Borgnine, Johnny Crawford, Darby Hinton, Henry Darrow, Peter Graves, Stephen J. Cannell, Stefanie Powers, Pat Crowley, Mitch Vogel, Adam West, Chuck McCann, Martin Landau, Mike Connors, Dennis Weaver, Angie Dickinson and Buddy Ebsen. A montage in the closing minutes features some other westerns and cast members.
Crime Dramas (2/1/11 - 55:09) - This episode begins with the 1950s Dragnet and the Untouchables; includes 1960s hits Mission: Impossible I Spy and Hawaii Five-0; and wraps with 1970s favorites Rockford Files, Columbo, and Police Woman.
Dragnet began as a radio drama on NBC on June 3, 1949. In 1951, the television series debuted. Topics include an innovation by Jack Webb that made it possible for them to shoot an episode in just one or two days, close-ups to show emotion, and the famous "just the facts, ma'am" quote. The Untouchables was one of the most violent shows on television. Another show created by Desilu, Mannix starred Mike Connors. Mike Connors talks about how they sped up the pace of the show with 50 set ups a day. Mission: Impossible stars Peter Graves, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain independently reveal the eerie connection between their series and actual cold war events. They talk about the make-up and how they got to play somebody different each week.
I Spy featured Bill Cosby as the first African American male in a lead role on TV. Bill Cosby talks about his groundbreaking role and the challenges he faced. Co-star Robert Culp also discusses his work on the show. Hawaii Five-O featured Jack Lord as Jack McGarrett. Lord's involvement in the show is detailed. Most of the actors on the show were local Hawaiian actors. Women stars of crime drama included Anne Francis on Honey West, Stefanie Powers on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and Angie Dickinson on Police Woman. Stefanie Powers talks about her outfits on the show. Angie Dickinson explains her conflict with the feminist movement. Columbo starred Peter Falk. He made the character his own and brought his trademark trenchcoat from home and picked out Columbo's car. Stephen J. Cannell discusses the creation of The Rockford Files. James Garner talks about his role and stunt driving on the series. Others interviewed include Leonard Nimoy, Pat Crowley, Veronica Cartwright, Stan Freberg, Gavin MacLeod, Bruce Bilson and Rita Moreno. Some still images and trivia are shown in a montage in the closing minutes.
Local Kids' TV (2/8/11 - 55:09) - Jim Henson, Willard Scott, and Fred Rogers are among the performers who started their careers in local TV. These three icons -- and a dozen others -- are featured in this episode that highlights the clowns, pirates, spacemen, and puppets who made local kids' TV memorable for a generation.
The Wallace and Ladmo Show began in 1954 and aired in Phoenix, AZ for over 35 years. Bill Thompson, Sharon Kelley and Pat McMahon discuss their work on the show. Stan Freberg talks about a Time for Beany which aired in Los Angeles for 5 years. Jim Henson got his start on Sam and Friends in Washington, DC. His innovations in puppetry are discussed. Joan Ganz Cooney talks about the development of Sesame Street. Fred Rogers disusses his early work on television off camera and the start of his own show where he would appear on camera. Chuck McCann comments on Puppet Motel and later The Chuck McCann Show. Steven Spielberg recounts the Arizona kids' show, The Wallace and Ladmo Show, that shaped his career. Marlene Manderfield discusses Romper Room, which had localized versions across the country. Socorro Serano talks about the strictness and uniformity of the show. Mary Ann King documents the chain of events that led to a lion escaping on the set of Romper Room in Los Angeles. The history of Bozo the Clown is detailed. Willard Scott explains the surprising physical challenges of playing Bozo in Washington, DC. Dan Castellaneta reveals the inspiration for The Simpsons' Krusty the Clown. The Action for Children's Television is briefly mentioned. Bill Cosby, Prof. Gordon Berry PH.D., and Lou Scheimer talk about Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Others interviewed include Ernest Borgnine, Bill Mumy, and Susan Harmon.
This is a very interesting and entertaining series on the pioneers of television. These episodes are well made with many new interviews, vintage clips and still images. It's sad to watch some of the final interviews of Robert Culp, Peter Graves, Fess Parker and Stephen J. Cannell, who we all lost in 2010. They are able to put a lot of information in one-hour episodes, but they could really benefit by extending them to two hours. There are only able to cover so many shows and people in detail with the one-hour format. The science fiction and crime drama episodes were the most interesting to me, since I've always been a fan of those television genres. The local kids' tv episode was fun, but I think it focused a little too much on The Wallace and Ladmo Show, which may have only been familiar to people who live or have lived in Phoenix, AZ.
Season two is a nice follow-up to the first four episodes. I liked the first season with sitcoms, late night, variety and game shows a little more than the second season, but there should be something for everybody to enjoy on this release. It seems like they are taking ideas for more episodes on the Pioneers of Television Facebook page. I would like to see new episodes on network news and live events, Saturday morning kids shows, animated series, medical shows, music shows and reality television. Thanks to PBS for bringing us some quality programming.
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Pioneers of Television Official PBS Site
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 8) is mostly a dead day for new releases, although there is one classic TV release that we won't be covering here. VEI is releasing McMillan & Wife - Season Three in Canada at a $39.95 MSRP.
LOOKING AHEAD
This has been a very sad and disappointing week, but we can only give you what we have when it comes to news. But we'll still be back next week with more news (let's hope this stuff starts to pick up) as well as a review of the Canadian hit comedy series, The Red Green Show - The Delinquent Years. Until then, keep it digital!
DIGITAL NEWS
A few months ago, TMG released a two-disc set of the classic Betty White series Life With Elizabeth, but they aren't stopping there! Now, they are preparing a two-disc set of Betty White's other series from the 50s, Date with the Angels. The 12-episode set will be released on April 26 at a very low $9.98 MSRP.
A few weeks ago, Shout! Factory announced that they would be releasing the first season of the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberries. We didn't mention it because it is a bit beyond the scope of our website, but something that didn't catch our eye was this post from Brian Ward on the Shout! Factory Community message boards mentioning that other Nickelodeon series are in the works from Shout! Factory. Now, as to what they'll be or when they'll be announced, there is no telling, but hopefully this will include some sitcoms from the Nickelodeon library.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
DVD Review: Pioneers of Television - Season 2
by Todd Fuller
Pioneers of Television - Season 2 (PBS Direct, $24.99)
Nearly 100 stars from TV's formative years bring their stories to PBS in season two of the Emmy-nominated documentary series Pioneers of Television. Narrated by Kelsey Grammer, each episode melds compelling new interviews with irresistible archival clips to offer a fresh take on TV's founding celebrities. This season's four new episodes profile science fiction, crime dramas, local kids' shows, and westerns. Featured stars include James Garner, William Shatner, Angie Dickinson, Fess Parker, Linda Evans, Robert Conrad, Mike Connors, Leonard Nimoy, Bill Cosby, and many others.
These specials began in November 2005 on PBS with The Pioneers of Primetime which focused on vaudeville headliners, radio superstars and television legends. In 2008, four one-hour specials were made that profiled late night, sitcoms, variety and game shows. Season two premiered in January and February 2011 and took a look at science fiction, westerns, crime dramas and local kids' tv.
The cover art features a montage of black and white photos of James Arness, James Garner, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Angie Dickinson, Rod Serling, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford and Jim Henson. The episodes are presented in widescreen format. The recent interviews look excellent, but some of the vintage show clips vary in quality. The main menus features the same montage of black and white photos as the cover art. There are options for Episode Selection, Scene Selection and Set Up. Subtitles are available for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The set has a running time of approximately 220 minutes.
Here is the breakdown of the four episodes, including the original airdates and runtimes:
Science Fiction (01/18/11 - 55:09) - Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Nichelle Nichols reflect on the birth of Star Trek. Lost in Space is remembered by Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright. And a lost interview with Rod Sterling highlights a look at The Twilight Zone.
This episode focuses on three key science fiction series: Star Trek, Lost in Space and The Twilight Zone.. A surprising connection between Star Trek and Lost in Space is uncovered. Star Trek topics covered include Gene Roddenberry's story and the development of the show, William Shatner and how he was cast, Leonard Nimoy and the development of Spock's ears, and Nichelle Nichols and TV's first interracial kiss. Lost in Space topics include Irwin Allen's story and the development of the show, Jonathan Harris' portrayal of the Zachary Smith character, Irwin Allen's creation of The Time Tunnel, and the classic The Great Vegetable Rebellion episode. The Twilight Zone section details Rod Serling's early days, memorable episodes with guest stars William Shatner and Bill Mumy, Rod Serling's favorite episode, the special effects on the show, and the end of the show and Rod Serling's later projects. Others interviewed include Marta Kristen, Veronica Cartwright, Peter Graves, Lee Meriwether, Adam West and Martin Landau. Some bonus pioneering moments in science fiction are shown in the closing minutes.
Westerns (01/25/11 - 55:08) - James Garner (Maverick), Robert Conrad (Wild Wild West), and James Arness (Gunsmoke) are just three of the pioneers who talk about their experiences in this episode -- which also includes Linda Evans (Big Valley) and Fess Parker (Daniel Boone). Classics like Bonanza and The Rifleman are also featured.
From the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, there were more than 100 different western series. In the 1959 season alone, there were more than 30 on the schedule. Gunsmoke, Bonanza and The Rifleman are among the iconic series profiled in this episode. James Garner talks about how he never wanted to become an actor, how he was picked to play Bret Maverick on Maverick, and his later television roles. Sam Peckinpah created his first TV series, The Rifleman, in 1958 starring Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford. Mr. Peckinpah left after the first season. Bonanza topics include Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, and the lack of female characters on the show. The Big Valley would be the first western with a female in the lead role. Barbara Stanwyck played the matriarch of the Barkley family. Linda Evans played her daughter and offers a touching new perspective on her co-star.
Premiering the same season as The Big Valley, The Wild Wild West was one of the most unconventional westerns. Robert Conrad did many of his own stunts and details the on-set accident that cracked his skull. Gunsmoke's story details the casting of James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, the show's popularity over 20 seasons, and some of the show's other cast members including the break-out character of Chester played by Dennis Weaver. In the last interview with Fess Parker, the star of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, he talks about his effort to cast African-American guest stars at a time when that was rare. The High Chapparal featured Henry Darrow as Manolito Montoya and had Hispanic actors speaking in Spanish. Others interviewed include Robert Culp, Ed Ames, Linda Evans, Veronica Cartwright, Rosey Grier, Ernest Borgnine, Johnny Crawford, Darby Hinton, Henry Darrow, Peter Graves, Stephen J. Cannell, Stefanie Powers, Pat Crowley, Mitch Vogel, Adam West, Chuck McCann, Martin Landau, Mike Connors, Dennis Weaver, Angie Dickinson and Buddy Ebsen. A montage in the closing minutes features some other westerns and cast members.
Crime Dramas (2/1/11 - 55:09) - This episode begins with the 1950s Dragnet and the Untouchables; includes 1960s hits Mission: Impossible I Spy and Hawaii Five-0; and wraps with 1970s favorites Rockford Files, Columbo, and Police Woman.
Dragnet began as a radio drama on NBC on June 3, 1949. In 1951, the television series debuted. Topics include an innovation by Jack Webb that made it possible for them to shoot an episode in just one or two days, close-ups to show emotion, and the famous "just the facts, ma'am" quote. The Untouchables was one of the most violent shows on television. Another show created by Desilu, Mannix starred Mike Connors. Mike Connors talks about how they sped up the pace of the show with 50 set ups a day. Mission: Impossible stars Peter Graves, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain independently reveal the eerie connection between their series and actual cold war events. They talk about the make-up and how they got to play somebody different each week.
I Spy featured Bill Cosby as the first African American male in a lead role on TV. Bill Cosby talks about his groundbreaking role and the challenges he faced. Co-star Robert Culp also discusses his work on the show. Hawaii Five-O featured Jack Lord as Jack McGarrett. Lord's involvement in the show is detailed. Most of the actors on the show were local Hawaiian actors. Women stars of crime drama included Anne Francis on Honey West, Stefanie Powers on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and Angie Dickinson on Police Woman. Stefanie Powers talks about her outfits on the show. Angie Dickinson explains her conflict with the feminist movement. Columbo starred Peter Falk. He made the character his own and brought his trademark trenchcoat from home and picked out Columbo's car. Stephen J. Cannell discusses the creation of The Rockford Files. James Garner talks about his role and stunt driving on the series. Others interviewed include Leonard Nimoy, Pat Crowley, Veronica Cartwright, Stan Freberg, Gavin MacLeod, Bruce Bilson and Rita Moreno. Some still images and trivia are shown in a montage in the closing minutes.
Local Kids' TV (2/8/11 - 55:09) - Jim Henson, Willard Scott, and Fred Rogers are among the performers who started their careers in local TV. These three icons -- and a dozen others -- are featured in this episode that highlights the clowns, pirates, spacemen, and puppets who made local kids' TV memorable for a generation.
The Wallace and Ladmo Show began in 1954 and aired in Phoenix, AZ for over 35 years. Bill Thompson, Sharon Kelley and Pat McMahon discuss their work on the show. Stan Freberg talks about a Time for Beany which aired in Los Angeles for 5 years. Jim Henson got his start on Sam and Friends in Washington, DC. His innovations in puppetry are discussed. Joan Ganz Cooney talks about the development of Sesame Street. Fred Rogers disusses his early work on television off camera and the start of his own show where he would appear on camera. Chuck McCann comments on Puppet Motel and later The Chuck McCann Show. Steven Spielberg recounts the Arizona kids' show, The Wallace and Ladmo Show, that shaped his career. Marlene Manderfield discusses Romper Room, which had localized versions across the country. Socorro Serano talks about the strictness and uniformity of the show. Mary Ann King documents the chain of events that led to a lion escaping on the set of Romper Room in Los Angeles. The history of Bozo the Clown is detailed. Willard Scott explains the surprising physical challenges of playing Bozo in Washington, DC. Dan Castellaneta reveals the inspiration for The Simpsons' Krusty the Clown. The Action for Children's Television is briefly mentioned. Bill Cosby, Prof. Gordon Berry PH.D., and Lou Scheimer talk about Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Others interviewed include Ernest Borgnine, Bill Mumy, and Susan Harmon.
This is a very interesting and entertaining series on the pioneers of television. These episodes are well made with many new interviews, vintage clips and still images. It's sad to watch some of the final interviews of Robert Culp, Peter Graves, Fess Parker and Stephen J. Cannell, who we all lost in 2010. They are able to put a lot of information in one-hour episodes, but they could really benefit by extending them to two hours. There are only able to cover so many shows and people in detail with the one-hour format. The science fiction and crime drama episodes were the most interesting to me, since I've always been a fan of those television genres. The local kids' tv episode was fun, but I think it focused a little too much on The Wallace and Ladmo Show, which may have only been familiar to people who live or have lived in Phoenix, AZ.
Season two is a nice follow-up to the first four episodes. I liked the first season with sitcoms, late night, variety and game shows a little more than the second season, but there should be something for everybody to enjoy on this release. It seems like they are taking ideas for more episodes on the Pioneers of Television Facebook page. I would like to see new episodes on network news and live events, Saturday morning kids shows, animated series, medical shows, music shows and reality television. Thanks to PBS for bringing us some quality programming.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Pioneers of Television Official PBS Site
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 8) is mostly a dead day for new releases, although there is one classic TV release that we won't be covering here. VEI is releasing McMillan & Wife - Season Three in Canada at a $39.95 MSRP.
LOOKING AHEAD
This has been a very sad and disappointing week, but we can only give you what we have when it comes to news. But we'll still be back next week with more news (let's hope this stuff starts to pick up) as well as a review of the Canadian hit comedy series, The Red Green Show - The Delinquent Years. Until then, keep it digital!
Friday, March 04, 2011
ReelzChannel TV Changes Sitcom Times; BET, GMC Notes; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 7, 2011)
ReelzChannel TV will be making some time changes starting on Monday (March 7). First, Carson's Comedy Classics will remain leading off at 8am. NewsRadio moves into the weekday 9am hour replacing Becker, however Cheers will remain at 10am. NewsRadio will no longer air in the 11am hour, as original programming takes over. Then in the afternoon, Ally McBeal moves to 1pm and is reduced to just one airing. NewsRadio remains in the 2pm hour, but now the 3pm & 4pm hours will be sitcoms instead of Ally. The 3pm hour will have an hour of Becker followed by an hour of Cheers. The evening sitcoms remain unchanged with Becker at 6 and 3rd Rock from the Sun at 7pm. Primetime and late night also remains unchanged on weeknights with a movie at 8, Brothers & Sisters at 10, another movie at 11 and Cheers at 1am on most nights.
On weekends, Becker remains in the 9am hour leading into Cheers at 10am, as well as Becker at 6pm into 3rd Rock from the Sun at 7pm. However, Cheers will air now at 10pm on weekends! Everything else remains as is on weekends, including Brothers & Sisters on Sundays at 12pm & 1pm.
Moving on to some other schedule notes, Girlfriends will return to the BET weekday schedule airing weekdays in the 12pm hour starting Monday, March 7. The sitcom will replace Everybody Hates Chris, which will remain at 5pm. Everything else remains as is, with Bernie Mac from 9am-11am, Jamie Foxx Show at 11am, The Game from 3-5pm, and Everybody Hates Chris at 5pm. Weekends will have a mix of all of these sitcoms starting in the morning and lasting into the afternoon. Also, The Unit returns to the schedule on Saturday, Mach 12 at 8am with an encore at 3am.
And on GMC, they will have a marathon of the family drama Christy starring Kellie Martin on Sunday (March 6) from 10am-1am. The drama was on the schedule when they launched the revamped network, but it hasn't been on in a while regularly. Will it return to the line-up? We will let you know, so stay with us!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of March 7-11, 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 7, 2011
Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!
On weekends, Becker remains in the 9am hour leading into Cheers at 10am, as well as Becker at 6pm into 3rd Rock from the Sun at 7pm. However, Cheers will air now at 10pm on weekends! Everything else remains as is on weekends, including Brothers & Sisters on Sundays at 12pm & 1pm.
Moving on to some other schedule notes, Girlfriends will return to the BET weekday schedule airing weekdays in the 12pm hour starting Monday, March 7. The sitcom will replace Everybody Hates Chris, which will remain at 5pm. Everything else remains as is, with Bernie Mac from 9am-11am, Jamie Foxx Show at 11am, The Game from 3-5pm, and Everybody Hates Chris at 5pm. Weekends will have a mix of all of these sitcoms starting in the morning and lasting into the afternoon. Also, The Unit returns to the schedule on Saturday, Mach 12 at 8am with an encore at 3am.
And on GMC, they will have a marathon of the family drama Christy starring Kellie Martin on Sunday (March 6) from 10am-1am. The drama was on the schedule when they launched the revamped network, but it hasn't been on in a while regularly. Will it return to the line-up? We will let you know, so stay with us!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of March 7-11, 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 7, 2011
- Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/Golden Girls/Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Watch Betty on a REPEAT of Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Amy on a REPEAT of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) - Catch Kelly on a REPEAT of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC at 12am.
- Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) - Watch Meredith on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Judy Greer (Mad Love/Miss Guided) - Watch Judy on CBS Early Show sometime between 7-9am.
- Heather Locklear (Spin City) - Watch Heather on The Rachel Ray Show, so check listings.
- Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - See Eric on a REPEAT of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Topher Grace (That '70s Show) - Catch Topher on an all-new Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- John Stamos (Full House/Jake in Progress) - Watch John with his mom on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1p CT-PT.
- Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation/The Office) - Watch Rashida on The TODAY Show between 7-9am on NBC.
- Will Sasso ($#*! My Dad Days/Less than Perfect) - Watch Will on The Mo'nique Show on BET at 11pm.
- Raven Symone (That's So Raven/Cosby Show/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - Watch Raven on a REPEAT of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your listings or watch on BET at 12am.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Aubrey on a REPEAT of Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm only on NBC.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Watch Valerie on The Ellen DeGeneres Show so check your listings.
- Henry Winkler (Happy Days/Arrested Development/Monty) - Watch Henry on a REPEAT of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
- Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) - Watch Shirley on The Joy Behar Show at 9pm on HLN.
- Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Watch Sofia on a REPEAT of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Michael Rappaport (The War at Home) - Catch him on a REPEAT of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:37am on NBC.
Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Nick at Nite March 2011; Welcome Back Kotter Reunion at 2011 TV Land Awards
It is a quiet month on Nick at Nite in March 2011, but of course as usual, there is one wall-to-wall marathon week. This month it is George Lopez and it will air Monday, March 7 through Friday, March 11, 2011 from 10pm-6am! That's a 40-hour marathon...so get working with George in late nights after your 40-hour work week! The regular schedule will remain the same but Glenn Martin is not airing anymore it seems. As of last Friday (Feb. 25), Nick at Nite removed the animated comedy from its Friday at 10:30pm slot, replaced by George Lopez. As a result, the Friday 9pm hour will no longer be Everybody Hates Chris and George Lopez, it will now be a full-hour of My Wife & Kids. There is no word on if and when Glenn Martin will return to the schedule. The series still has a handful of new episodes left to air from its 20 episode second season order, so it possibly will return soon to air those episodes.
Fridays at 9pm for two weeks in March will have two movie premieres, though. On Friday, March 18 from 9pm-11:30pm it is the Nick at Nite premiere of Ghostbusters (1984)! And on Friday, March 25 from 9pm-11pm, it is the premiere of Baby's Day Out, which was preempted on Feb. 27, so it will make its premiere on March 25.
That's about it for Nick at Nite March 2011, so view the schedule and discuss the month!
TV Land announced that Golden Globe(R) winner and two-time Academy Award(R) nominee John Travolta will reunite with the cast of Welcome Back, Kotter at the 2011 TV Land Awards. The network will salute the beloved sitcom -- set in Brooklyn, NY -- with the 35th Anniversary Award at this year's show taping in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Sunday, April 10 and airing on TV Land on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Travolta will reunite with co-stars Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Ron Palillo and Marcia Strassman -- with more cast members to be announced -- to accept the 35th Anniversary Award for the popular edgy sitcom which ran from 1975-1979 on ABC.
Welcome Back, Kotter ran for five seasons and revolved around an inner-city high school teacher, Mr. Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) who returns to his alma mater to teach a new generation of under-achieving misfits nicknamed the "Sweathogs." As a former "Sweathog" himself, Kotter uses his own life experiences to try and get through to this misunderstood group led by wisecracking Vinnie Barbarino (Travolta). The talented cast is rounded out by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington, Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack, Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein and Marcia Strassman as Mr. Kotter's wife, Julie.
Now in its ninth year, the 2011 TV Land Awards pays tribute to classic and contemporary luminaries of television, music and movies. The ninety-minute telecast will feature exhilarating musical performances and will reunite some of the most iconic celebrity TV casts. Previously announced honorees include Regis Philbin (Legend Award), Family Ties (Fan Favorite Award) and The Cosby Show (Impact Award).
Stay tuned for more TV Land Awards announcements and also stay with us for TV Land April 2011 schedule and highlights sometime next week!
Fridays at 9pm for two weeks in March will have two movie premieres, though. On Friday, March 18 from 9pm-11:30pm it is the Nick at Nite premiere of Ghostbusters (1984)! And on Friday, March 25 from 9pm-11pm, it is the premiere of Baby's Day Out, which was preempted on Feb. 27, so it will make its premiere on March 25.
That's about it for Nick at Nite March 2011, so view the schedule and discuss the month!
TV Land announced that Golden Globe(R) winner and two-time Academy Award(R) nominee John Travolta will reunite with the cast of Welcome Back, Kotter at the 2011 TV Land Awards. The network will salute the beloved sitcom -- set in Brooklyn, NY -- with the 35th Anniversary Award at this year's show taping in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Sunday, April 10 and airing on TV Land on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Travolta will reunite with co-stars Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Ron Palillo and Marcia Strassman -- with more cast members to be announced -- to accept the 35th Anniversary Award for the popular edgy sitcom which ran from 1975-1979 on ABC.
Welcome Back, Kotter ran for five seasons and revolved around an inner-city high school teacher, Mr. Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) who returns to his alma mater to teach a new generation of under-achieving misfits nicknamed the "Sweathogs." As a former "Sweathog" himself, Kotter uses his own life experiences to try and get through to this misunderstood group led by wisecracking Vinnie Barbarino (Travolta). The talented cast is rounded out by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington, Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack, Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein and Marcia Strassman as Mr. Kotter's wife, Julie.
Now in its ninth year, the 2011 TV Land Awards pays tribute to classic and contemporary luminaries of television, music and movies. The ninety-minute telecast will feature exhilarating musical performances and will reunite some of the most iconic celebrity TV casts. Previously announced honorees include Regis Philbin (Legend Award), Family Ties (Fan Favorite Award) and The Cosby Show (Impact Award).
Stay tuned for more TV Land Awards announcements and also stay with us for TV Land April 2011 schedule and highlights sometime next week!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Empty Nest Joins Regular Hallmark Channel Schedule on March 8; Many Network Notes
As you all know, The Hallmark Channel aired an Empty Nest marathon this past Saturday (Feb. 26) that they called a "premiere" marathon. There were no regular schedule airings planned, as we reported, but now in a last minute schedule change, the show will indeed be joining the regular schedule starting next week! Perhaps the series did well in the ratings? We're not sure actually (we will try to find out), but you can assume it did. Richard Mulligan and company will join the schedule on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 and will air for two-hours every weekday from 3-5pm ET. The sitcom will start from the pilot episode and go in order. So, since it is airing four times a day and 20 times a week (16 times the first week), it should go pretty fast. The "premiere" marathon on Saturday aired all 22 first season episodes, but now the rest of the series will be shown, too. The second season will begin on Tuesday, March 15, if you want to get your DVR's ready, especially if you recorded all 22 first season episodes in the marathon.
Empty Nest will replace Little House on the Prairie from 3-5pm, but Little House will remain at 5pm and will now air from 6-8pm as well, replacing Who's the Boss? So, it is Empty Nest from 3-5pm and Little House on the Prairie from 5-8pm every weekday late afternoon/evening. Who's the Boss? will remain airing on the schedule in the late night/early morning times of 4-6am every single day. Let's hope it returns to a good time slot soon, though, but at least it is still airing. One more piece of bad news is the Who's the Boss? full-day 24-hour marathon for this Saturday (March 5) has been canceled. No reason for the change was given. The regular Saturday line-up will air consisting of I Love Lucy and Golden Girls in the mornings, then movies the rest of the day with Golden Girls and Cheers in late night. The Cheers 24-hour marathon the following day (March 6) will remain on the schedule.
There are no other schedule changes, but view our March 2011 schedule for more info and to discuss these changes!
We have many network notes to recap for you. First, last night's 20/20 special with Charlie Sheen had to preempt Detroit 1-8-7 at 10pm, as you know. ABC will now bump that episode to next week, as expected, and the following episode will air on March 15, but the season finale will air on a special night on Sunday, March 20, preempting a Brothers & Sisters repeat. The Charlie Sheen interview last night did big ratings and won its 10pm hour easily.
Yesterday we gave you the celebrities appearing on Dancing with the Stars Season 12, today we have the pro pairings! Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (who is back for his tenth season), "Psycho" Mike Catherwood and "Racey" Lacey Schwimmer (who is back for her fourth season), Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke (who is back for his eleventh season), Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas (who returns for his eighth season), Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunsakaya (who returns for her seventh season), Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff (who returns for her eighth season), Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin (who returns for his third season), Romeo and Chelsie Hightower (who returns for her fifth season), Hines Ward and Kym Johnson (who returns for her ninth season), Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel (who returns for his eighth season), and finally Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani (who is back for his eleventh season). Missing from this last from last season are Derek Hough, who will be back for season 13, and Corky Ballas, while Dmitry Chaplin returns. The season premiere is Monday, March 21 at 8pm.
Meanwhile, Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green and fellow Grammy Award winner Adam Levine (Maroon 5) have been named as two of the four musician coaches on NBC's new musical competition series The Voice, a show about real vocal talent that will premiere on Tuesday, April 26 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Following the premiere, The Voice will also air on Tuesday, May 3 from 9-11 p.m. ET and then move to its regular time period beginning May 10 from 8-9 p.m. ET that will last through at least Tuesday, June 28. This means The Biggest Loser will be reduced to one-hour on April 26 and May 3, then it will be back to two-hour episodes, but it will move to 9-11pm instead. 10pm drama Parenthood will wrap up its 22-episode season on Tuesday, April 19. The Biggest Loser season finale is on Tuesday, May 24, so it is unclear what will air from 9-11pm starting May 31, but of course NBC has America's Got Talent coming back but no schedule has been announced yet. Last season it returned on this same Tuesday (June 1, 2010) from 8-10pm, so it is likely it returns this season on this night.
Finally, beginning Monday, March 7, The Hills repeats will be airing on TV Guide Network every weekday at 5:00 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. ET, as the series finds a cable home in syndication. Encores will also air at 1:00 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. The series will move Punk'd to 4 p.m. & 4:30 p.m., as Curb Your Enthusiasm is replaced. Ugly Betty will remain at 12 noon, 6pm & 7pm. Curb Your Enthusiasm will now only air in its Saturday morning schedule of 1:00am & 11:30am. Weeds will remain Thursday and Saturday nights and an airing on Sunday nights. The Hills, which aired on MTV, follows budding fashion designer Lauren Conrad and her friends as they navigate life, love and friendships. In addition to Conrad, The Hills launched the careers of reality stars such as Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, Brody Jenner and Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Audrina Patridge appeared on season eleven of Dancing with the Stars this past fall.
Empty Nest will replace Little House on the Prairie from 3-5pm, but Little House will remain at 5pm and will now air from 6-8pm as well, replacing Who's the Boss? So, it is Empty Nest from 3-5pm and Little House on the Prairie from 5-8pm every weekday late afternoon/evening. Who's the Boss? will remain airing on the schedule in the late night/early morning times of 4-6am every single day. Let's hope it returns to a good time slot soon, though, but at least it is still airing. One more piece of bad news is the Who's the Boss? full-day 24-hour marathon for this Saturday (March 5) has been canceled. No reason for the change was given. The regular Saturday line-up will air consisting of I Love Lucy and Golden Girls in the mornings, then movies the rest of the day with Golden Girls and Cheers in late night. The Cheers 24-hour marathon the following day (March 6) will remain on the schedule.
There are no other schedule changes, but view our March 2011 schedule for more info and to discuss these changes!
We have many network notes to recap for you. First, last night's 20/20 special with Charlie Sheen had to preempt Detroit 1-8-7 at 10pm, as you know. ABC will now bump that episode to next week, as expected, and the following episode will air on March 15, but the season finale will air on a special night on Sunday, March 20, preempting a Brothers & Sisters repeat. The Charlie Sheen interview last night did big ratings and won its 10pm hour easily.
Yesterday we gave you the celebrities appearing on Dancing with the Stars Season 12, today we have the pro pairings! Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (who is back for his tenth season), "Psycho" Mike Catherwood and "Racey" Lacey Schwimmer (who is back for her fourth season), Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke (who is back for his eleventh season), Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas (who returns for his eighth season), Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunsakaya (who returns for her seventh season), Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff (who returns for her eighth season), Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin (who returns for his third season), Romeo and Chelsie Hightower (who returns for her fifth season), Hines Ward and Kym Johnson (who returns for her ninth season), Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel (who returns for his eighth season), and finally Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani (who is back for his eleventh season). Missing from this last from last season are Derek Hough, who will be back for season 13, and Corky Ballas, while Dmitry Chaplin returns. The season premiere is Monday, March 21 at 8pm.
Meanwhile, Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green and fellow Grammy Award winner Adam Levine (Maroon 5) have been named as two of the four musician coaches on NBC's new musical competition series The Voice, a show about real vocal talent that will premiere on Tuesday, April 26 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Following the premiere, The Voice will also air on Tuesday, May 3 from 9-11 p.m. ET and then move to its regular time period beginning May 10 from 8-9 p.m. ET that will last through at least Tuesday, June 28. This means The Biggest Loser will be reduced to one-hour on April 26 and May 3, then it will be back to two-hour episodes, but it will move to 9-11pm instead. 10pm drama Parenthood will wrap up its 22-episode season on Tuesday, April 19. The Biggest Loser season finale is on Tuesday, May 24, so it is unclear what will air from 9-11pm starting May 31, but of course NBC has America's Got Talent coming back but no schedule has been announced yet. Last season it returned on this same Tuesday (June 1, 2010) from 8-10pm, so it is likely it returns this season on this night.
Finally, beginning Monday, March 7, The Hills repeats will be airing on TV Guide Network every weekday at 5:00 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. ET, as the series finds a cable home in syndication. Encores will also air at 1:00 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. The series will move Punk'd to 4 p.m. & 4:30 p.m., as Curb Your Enthusiasm is replaced. Ugly Betty will remain at 12 noon, 6pm & 7pm. Curb Your Enthusiasm will now only air in its Saturday morning schedule of 1:00am & 11:30am. Weeds will remain Thursday and Saturday nights and an airing on Sunday nights. The Hills, which aired on MTV, follows budding fashion designer Lauren Conrad and her friends as they navigate life, love and friendships. In addition to Conrad, The Hills launched the careers of reality stars such as Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, Brody Jenner and Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Audrina Patridge appeared on season eleven of Dancing with the Stars this past fall.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
TV Land Orders 3rd Season of Hot in Cleveland; Dancing with the Stars Season 12 Cast Has 2 Sitcom Stars
TV Land has announced that its original sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, will return for a third season with 22 episodes to begin shooting this summer. The sitcom, which garnered unprecedented ratings not only for the network but across cable, continues to be a huge success scoring a strong 1.6 among TV Land's target Adults 25-54 audience, a 2.0 among Women 25-54 and an average of 3.2 million total viewers. The sitcom remains the highest-rated and most-watched series in the history of the network and was recently nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards® including: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series – Betty White, which Ms. White won.
Production for season three will begin in the summer. Currently the series is airing episodes from the first half of season two. The second season has 20 episodes and the first 10 are airing through March 23. The second half of the season will resume with the final 10 episodes of the season this summer. A return date has not been officially set yet, though. No word on when season three will start airing, but it is possible for a late fall start. Stay with us for further information, as always!
The sitcom revolves around three fabulous best friends from Los Angeles – novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), eye-brow archer to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves) and former soap star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) – who find their lives changed forever when their plane, headed for Paris, makes an unexpected landing. When the friends discover that life is better for them and that they are hot in Cleveland, they decide to stay. Starting over together, they rent a house that happens to come with a very opinionated caretaker (Betty White).
Last night ABC announced the cast of Dancing with the Stars season 12 live during two commercial breaks during The Bachelor. A star-studded cast filled with celebrities across a variety of genres -- including a boxing legend, a talk-show personality, a Super Bowl Steeler, a former Playboy bunny and a legendary comedic actress -- are set to compete each week on the dance floor in the spectacular two-hour season premiere on Monday, March 21 starting at 8pm ET/PT. All 11 couples will dance for the first time on live national television on that night, with couples either performing the Foxtrot or the Cha Cha Cha. The couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and public votes for their first two performances will be sent home the following week on the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars the Results Show on Tuesday, March 29 at 9pm ET/PT.
Hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke announced in a live press conference that the 11 stars are: Kirstie Alley (sitcom/comedic actress), Mike Catherwood (radio personality), Chris Jericho (former WWE wrestler/rock singer/TV host), Chelsea Kane (Disney Channel star), Sugar Ray Leonard (legendary boxer), Ralph Macchio (film and TV star), Petra Nemcova (supermodel), Romeo (pop-star/actor), Hines Ward (NFL star), Kendra Wilkinson (reality TV star), and Wendy Williams (talk show host).
Kirstie Alley is best known for her sitcom work on Cheers, Veronica's Closet and Fat Actress. Chelsea Kane might not be well known to many, but her Disney Channel core audience will know her best for role on Jonas. The young star also has guest starred on Wizards of Waverly Place, Cracking Up, Listen Up and The Bill Engvall Show. Those are the two sitcom stars, but of course Romeo starred on Nickelodeon's comedy series Romeo! And Ralph Macchio is known for his film work such as The Karate Kid, but he did have a recurring role on ABC's one-hour comedy Ugly Betty.
Dancing with the Stars will continue to bring in theme weeks like it did last season with theme weeks such as TV theme week. The 1,000th Competitive Dance will air on Monday, April 18 (8pm-9:31pm), while the final performance show of the season (The Finals) will air on Monday, May 23 (8pm-9pm) and the grand finale will air the following night on Tuesday, May 24 from 9pm-11pm.
Still no further news on the Two and a Half Men/Charlie Sheen situation besides the strange interviews that Charlie Sheen has done the past few days. He has done radio shows, a live TMZ webcast, the TODAY show (for two days in a row), Piers Morgan Tonight, among others. Bits of his 20/20 interview has aired on Good Morning America (and on other ABC shows like World News and Nightline) the past two days, but you can see the full interview tonight at 10pm on ABC. This is the first network primetime interview. Most of what he says is comedic gold, but yes, he clearly has gone bananas. "Scoreboard doesn't lie" on that, Charlie.
Production for season three will begin in the summer. Currently the series is airing episodes from the first half of season two. The second season has 20 episodes and the first 10 are airing through March 23. The second half of the season will resume with the final 10 episodes of the season this summer. A return date has not been officially set yet, though. No word on when season three will start airing, but it is possible for a late fall start. Stay with us for further information, as always!
The sitcom revolves around three fabulous best friends from Los Angeles – novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), eye-brow archer to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves) and former soap star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) – who find their lives changed forever when their plane, headed for Paris, makes an unexpected landing. When the friends discover that life is better for them and that they are hot in Cleveland, they decide to stay. Starting over together, they rent a house that happens to come with a very opinionated caretaker (Betty White).
Last night ABC announced the cast of Dancing with the Stars season 12 live during two commercial breaks during The Bachelor. A star-studded cast filled with celebrities across a variety of genres -- including a boxing legend, a talk-show personality, a Super Bowl Steeler, a former Playboy bunny and a legendary comedic actress -- are set to compete each week on the dance floor in the spectacular two-hour season premiere on Monday, March 21 starting at 8pm ET/PT. All 11 couples will dance for the first time on live national television on that night, with couples either performing the Foxtrot or the Cha Cha Cha. The couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and public votes for their first two performances will be sent home the following week on the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars the Results Show on Tuesday, March 29 at 9pm ET/PT.
Hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke announced in a live press conference that the 11 stars are: Kirstie Alley (sitcom/comedic actress), Mike Catherwood (radio personality), Chris Jericho (former WWE wrestler/rock singer/TV host), Chelsea Kane (Disney Channel star), Sugar Ray Leonard (legendary boxer), Ralph Macchio (film and TV star), Petra Nemcova (supermodel), Romeo (pop-star/actor), Hines Ward (NFL star), Kendra Wilkinson (reality TV star), and Wendy Williams (talk show host).
Kirstie Alley is best known for her sitcom work on Cheers, Veronica's Closet and Fat Actress. Chelsea Kane might not be well known to many, but her Disney Channel core audience will know her best for role on Jonas. The young star also has guest starred on Wizards of Waverly Place, Cracking Up, Listen Up and The Bill Engvall Show. Those are the two sitcom stars, but of course Romeo starred on Nickelodeon's comedy series Romeo! And Ralph Macchio is known for his film work such as The Karate Kid, but he did have a recurring role on ABC's one-hour comedy Ugly Betty.
Dancing with the Stars will continue to bring in theme weeks like it did last season with theme weeks such as TV theme week. The 1,000th Competitive Dance will air on Monday, April 18 (8pm-9:31pm), while the final performance show of the season (The Finals) will air on Monday, May 23 (8pm-9pm) and the grand finale will air the following night on Tuesday, May 24 from 9pm-11pm.
Still no further news on the Two and a Half Men/Charlie Sheen situation besides the strange interviews that Charlie Sheen has done the past few days. He has done radio shows, a live TMZ webcast, the TODAY show (for two days in a row), Piers Morgan Tonight, among others. Bits of his 20/20 interview has aired on Good Morning America (and on other ABC shows like World News and Nightline) the past two days, but you can see the full interview tonight at 10pm on ABC. This is the first network primetime interview. Most of what he says is comedic gold, but yes, he clearly has gone bananas. "Scoreboard doesn't lie" on that, Charlie.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Lifetime Alters March 2011 Schedule; Second Dallas Marathon on CMT
A couple of weeks ago we gave you the Lifetime March 2011 schedule that will start on March 7, but now they have really changed the schedule and it will start a week earlier, TODAY (Feb. 28)! First off, Frasier is still expiring but it will air this week only. It will remain in the 9am hour this week then Grey's Anatomy will replace it starting next week (March 7). Frasier will also air in the 1am hour this week and then will be replaced by Will & Grace starting March 7. Also as a reminder, Frasier will be leaving national broadcast syndication starting the week of March 7, but local stations can still buy the show separately...it is just not available nationally anymore and is a library product now instead of regular syndication.
Back to Lifetime, the entire schedule is basically changed. Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy will now be only weekday mornings at 8am and 9am. The Friday airings will still be repurposed episodes from ABC's current episode. Then from 10am-2pm, it is now a sitcom block of back-to-back Will & Grace and triple shots of Old Christine and How I Met Your Mother. Maybe afternoon airings will be better suited for the latter two, as they have struggled. Wife Swap is now off of the schedule. From 2pm-9pm we have a mix of crime reality and reality. American Justice and Cold Case Files joins the schedule at 2pm & 3pm leading into Unsolved Mysteries at 4pm & 5pm. Then at 6pm, it is Intervention leading into thee return of Pawn Stars in the 7pm hour. The 8pm hour will be a mix of American Justice and American Pickers on Tuesday and Wednesday (movies on Monday), but on Thursday and Friday nights we have Reba. From 9-11pm will also be mixed everyday, with a movie on Monday, American Pickers/One Born Every Minute on Tuesday, original specials on Wednesday and more Reba on Thursdays & Fridays. How I Met Your Mother remains in the11pm hour, but will now lead into back-to-back The New Adventures of Old Christine instead of Frasier. Back-to-back Will & Grace will air in the 1am hour leading into a half-hour of Reba at 2am.
View the updated Lifetime March 2011 schedule.
On January 1, CMT had a 10-episode Dallas marathon. Now in a last minute schedule move, they have scheduled a 6-hour marathon for today from 12pm-6pm ET. I know this is short notice, but CMT literally made the change last minute. Airing today are the last two episodes of season three and the first four episodes of season four. You'll see the historic Who Shot J.R.? episode and the stories leading in and leading out! Tune in to CMT today from 12pm-6pm!
Back to Lifetime, the entire schedule is basically changed. Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy will now be only weekday mornings at 8am and 9am. The Friday airings will still be repurposed episodes from ABC's current episode. Then from 10am-2pm, it is now a sitcom block of back-to-back Will & Grace and triple shots of Old Christine and How I Met Your Mother. Maybe afternoon airings will be better suited for the latter two, as they have struggled. Wife Swap is now off of the schedule. From 2pm-9pm we have a mix of crime reality and reality. American Justice and Cold Case Files joins the schedule at 2pm & 3pm leading into Unsolved Mysteries at 4pm & 5pm. Then at 6pm, it is Intervention leading into thee return of Pawn Stars in the 7pm hour. The 8pm hour will be a mix of American Justice and American Pickers on Tuesday and Wednesday (movies on Monday), but on Thursday and Friday nights we have Reba. From 9-11pm will also be mixed everyday, with a movie on Monday, American Pickers/One Born Every Minute on Tuesday, original specials on Wednesday and more Reba on Thursdays & Fridays. How I Met Your Mother remains in the11pm hour, but will now lead into back-to-back The New Adventures of Old Christine instead of Frasier. Back-to-back Will & Grace will air in the 1am hour leading into a half-hour of Reba at 2am.
View the updated Lifetime March 2011 schedule.
On January 1, CMT had a 10-episode Dallas marathon. Now in a last minute schedule move, they have scheduled a 6-hour marathon for today from 12pm-6pm ET. I know this is short notice, but CMT literally made the change last minute. Airing today are the last two episodes of season three and the first four episodes of season four. You'll see the historic Who Shot J.R.? episode and the stories leading in and leading out! Tune in to CMT today from 12pm-6pm!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Week 23 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2010-11 Week 23 TV Ratings (first four nights averages, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 23 (Feb. 21-27) Analysis: Week 23 has again CBS and Fox battling again in HH/viewers with it being very close, but Fox of course having a more comfortable lead in 18-49. The first four nights network averages were not made available again to us in time for this post, but we can once again project CBS or Fox is up in HH/viewers, but Fox is winning in 18-49. CBS is in second in 18-49. ABC and NBC are in third and fourth across the board, respectively like previous week. ABC will likely threaten Fox this week in 18-49 thanks to the Oscars tonight. It will be interesting. Last week, week 22, had CBS win the week over Fox in HH/viewers but it was Fox who was a full point ahead in 18-49 over CBS. ABC was third across the board. And NBC had a terrible week again in fourth place.
Monday saw ABC with the win edging CBS. ABC started with The Bachelor doing 10.41 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, for a season high. Could be higher tomorrow night as the finale comes closer and the cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 12 will be announced. At 10pm ABC started a special two-part Castle with part one doing 8.99 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up from previous week. The thrilling conclusion is tomorrow night. CBS was almost all-new with its comedies and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, a new How I Met Your Mother started it off with 9.33 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which was down a bit from previous week. At 8:30, new series Mad Love did 7.99 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, down some from the premiere and lower than any Rules of Engagement airing in the slot this season. Two and a Half Men followed with a REPEAT, as it will be repeats for the rest of the season now thanks to Charlie Sheen's antics, doing 11.54 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which is great for a repeat. But can this continue for the rest of the season? At 9:30, Mike & Molly was new and did 11.2 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which was down from previous week obviously. Will this show suffer now? A new Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 10.45 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, on par really with previous week. Fox was all-new with House doing 10.41 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. A new Chicago Code followed at 9pm with 7.87 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, also up a tenth from previous week. Fox will take these numbers if it remains here. NBC started its night with a new Chuck doing 5.48 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week again. At 9pm, the struggling The Cape did 4.15 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par also from previous week. At 10pm, a new Harry's Law did 8.75 million and just a 1.7 18-49 rating, but that was on par with previous week again. The CW was new with 90210 doing 1.52 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Gossip Girl followed with a new episode doing 1.57 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week.
Tuesday had CBS dominate with its dramas in viewers and even beat Fox in 18-49. CBS started with a new NCIS and did 21.32 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, up big from previous week. NCIS: Los Angeles followed with a new episode and did 18.69 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, also up big from previous week. The Good Wife did well in total viewers with 11.85 million but only a 2.0 18-49 rating, on par with previous week despite the other two dramas up big time. For ABC, No Ordinary Family was all-new in the 8pm hour doing 4.77 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. It's too bad. At 9, V was new and did 5.14 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, on par with from previous week. Detroit 1-8-7 was preempted for a special What Would You Do? How Would You Do It? special new with 4.14 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, up a few tenths from previous week. Fox had a new Glee on Tuesday and it did 10.58 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, which was up a bit from previous week. Next Fox disappointed with Raising Hope and did 6.0 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, but up from previous week's season low. Episode three of new comedy Traffic Light saw a yellow light this week with 3.99 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, up a bit week-to-week. NBC aired a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 7.58 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. Then at 10pm, Parenthood did 5.53 million but a first place 2.1 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. It's a weak hour indeed. The CW was new with One Tree Hill doing 2.01 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week again. Next at 9pm was a new episode of Hellcats and that did 1.64 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week.
Wednesday had American Idol expand to two-hours again so it easily won the night. Idol did 22.72 million and a 7.9 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Redemption Island doing 10.93 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which was down a bit from previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next with a new episode doing 13.15 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. At 10pm, week two of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior dropped to 9.81 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down nearly a full point from the premiere. ABC had its Laugh On comedy block and had a new The Middle open the night with a solid 7.96 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. Then at 8:30, a new Better With You did 5.73 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week, but could be better. Then ABC aired a new Modern Family at 9pm doing 10.17 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, which is down a bit from previous week as it faced Idol head-to-head again this week. Then at 9:30, Mr. Sunshine was new with 6.12 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down from previous week as Idol killed it. If it is in the 2.6-3.0 range this coming week (not against it), it should be fine. Once again, Cougar Town will return with a special airing on Monday, April 18, and then return to Wednesdays starting April 20. At 10pm, a new episode of new drama Off the Map aired and did 4.84 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up some from previous week, despite the lead-in going down. NBC aired a two-hour all-new Minute to Win It and did just 3.62 million and tied a series low at a 1.0 18-49 rating again. At 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was next with an all-new episode doing 8.02 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, up from previous week and won its hour actually. The CW had the season premiere of America's Next Top Model starting it off at 8pm doing 2.25 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which is not a good premiere. At 9pm series premiere of new reality series Shedding for the Wedding did only 1.07 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, if it sheds any more ratings, it will be shedding itself soon.
Thursday saw once again Fox win the night, as Idol was expanded to two-hours. ABC opened the night with an all-new Wipeout doing 7.12 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, up from previous week which was preempted for some reason in 3% of the country. Then Grey's Anatomy was next with a new episode doing 9.13 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, down some from previous week as it faced Idol. At 10pm, Private Practice was also new and did 6.44 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory and it did 12.35 million and a 3.8 A18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Then the Thursday premiere of Rules of Engagement was on par with of $#*! My Dad Says doing 9.45 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, Idol affects this show more, I guess. Next, CSI was new too and did 12.41 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. A new The Mentalist did 14.79 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, also down some from previous week. OK so onto Fox, it was all American Idol as a two-hour airing did 21.76 million and a 7.2 18-49 rating, down some from previous week which was an hour only. Fox preempted Bones this week. NBC was all-new new with its comedies but struggled again, as Community did 3.79 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Then new comedy Perfect Couples did only 2.89 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. At 9pm The Office was new and did 6.12 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is down some again from previous week. At 9:30pm, a new Parks and Recreation was at 4.59 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. At 10, NBC started with 30 Rock doing 4.5 million and a 2.3 18-49, up from previous week's low showing. At 10:30, Outsourced did only 3.27 million and 1.4 18-49 rating, for another series low. The CW was next with a new Vampire Diaries doing 2.98 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week. Then a new Nikita did 2.14 million and just a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but Friday had Fox and CBS tie in 18-49 for first but at a very low rating. Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe helped Fox tie for the win. Saturday had Fox easily win with its normal crime reality series with everyone else way behind in 18-49. In fact, Fox did much better on Saturday than Friday.
Tonight ABC is all-new but its regular Sunday of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are preempted for the Oscars that will easily win the night and do 40 million+ in the ratings. NBC has three repeats of Minute to Win It starting at 8 following Dateline at 7. CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new The Amazing Race at 8 and then a repeat and new episode of Undercover Boss & CSI: Miami from 9-11pm. Fox is in repeats with Animation Domination starting at 7pm.
As for the week (week 23), ABC could win the week in HH/viewers but probably won' t catch up to Fox in 18-49 this week. But it will be close. What we know is that NBC will be in fourth. And for the coming week (week 24), has February sweeps coming to an end on Wednesday, but the big story of the week is the Charlie Sheen interview on ABC Tuesday night at 10pm that could do big.
Week 23 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 22 -- Feb. 14-20)
- American Dad! (Fox) - A new episode did 4.25 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week and the 18-49 rating is not too bad at 7:30.
- The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode did an improved 6.24 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, up a bit week-to-week. Earlier, a repeat at 7pm did 3.8 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, up from previous week.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A new episode only mustered 4.87 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, but up a lick from previous week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - An all-new episode did 6.57 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Closing the night out, a new episode did 5.43 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, like everything else, up some from previous week.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 9.33 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which was down a bit from previous week again...but still good.
- Mad Love (CBS) - 7.99 million for week two and a 2.8 18-49 rating is down some from previous week's premiere and lower than any Rules of Engagement airing in this slot.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.54 million for a repeat and a 3.0 18-49 rating. As Sheen says, people worship this drivel. Will it go down a lot tomorrow after Sheen's antics this past week? Repeats for the rest of the season, so what will CBS do?
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - 11.2 million for a new episode and a 18-49 rating of 3.2 is decent, drop was expected as its lead-in was a repeat. It needs to settle here, though...nothing less or CBS might be in trouble with Dancing with the Stars looming.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode only 6.0 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. Could be better still.
- Traffic Light (Fox) - The third episode only did 3.99 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, but actually up a lick from episode two.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new episode of this sitcom did 7.96 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. Again, too bad vs. Idol.
- Better with You (ABC) - A new episode of this series did 5.73 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. It is the weak link of the block right now with Idol airing.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 10.17 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week as it went ahead face-to-face with Idol again.
- Mr. Sunshine (ABC) - A new episode did 6.12 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating once against the final half-hour of Idol. This was down from previous week, but this week it won't face Idol. It needs to go up then.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 12.35 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - The Thursday premiere did 9.45 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, up a tad in 18-49 from $#*! My Dad Says the previous week but down some in viewers. This was a season low, though.
- Community (NBC) - A new episode did only 3.79 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week in 18-49.
- Perfect Couples (NBC) - A new episode did 2.89 million again and a 1.4 18-49 rating, which is down a bit from previous week in viewers but on par in 18-49. This is still not going to cut it.
- The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 6.12 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is down once again from previous week...after the big return on Jan. 20, it has dropped each week. This week it faced Idol, though.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new showing did 4.59 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating...up a tenth from previous week.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - At 10pm, a new episode did 4.5 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, up from previous week. The biggest climb of the block this week.
- Outsourced (NBC) - At 10:30pm, a new episode of this show was lost again at 10:30 doing just 3.27 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, which is a series low again. Chances are now that this show will not be back next fall.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm, but in repeats.
Summing it up. Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men (R) were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as 30 Rock, Raising Hope) or just plain old terrible (such as Outsourced, Traffic Light, Perfect Couples).
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Digital Digest: Jabberjaw - The Complete Series DVD Review
Welcome to Digital Digest, your weekly dose of all things related to home media! Charlie Sheen calls this weekly feature "drivel... pukefest that everyone worships" (OK, not really), but this week isn't the most exciting week of news... but we're here anyway! This week, in addition to our regular news, we've got a review of Jabberjaw - The Complete Series. Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
News in the world of DVDs has been slow this week, but we do have an announcement for American Dad - Volume 6. Scheduled to be released on April 19, the three disc set will contain 18 episodes at a $39.98 MSRP, along with plenty of commentaries.
We now step into the non-physical realm of home media and into Amazon.com. Amazon Prime has been available for some time now, but there is now a new feature included with this that is certain to please movie (and especially) TV fans everywhere: the ability to watch programs on-demand for free with your paid annual subscription. According to the press release,
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 1) is a very disappointing day for releases, with the only release of note being Leave it to Beaver - Season Six. We will have a review of this set posted soon on our Main DVD Reviews Page.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
There are many obscure Hanna-Barbera series out there, and Warner Archive has been bringing us many of these as manufacture-on-demand titles over the past few months. We brought you a review of Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch - The Complete Series last week, and this week, we have a review of another series, Jabberjaw, a series about a 15-foot tall talking shark from the future who plays in a rock-and-roll band and also manages to find time on the side to solve crimes with his teenage rock group. It's a series that only Saturday morning TV in the 1970s could have brought you, and now all 18 episodes are available on DVD in Jabberjaw - The Complete Series.
DVD Review: Jabberjaw - The Complete Series
by Greg Brobeck
Jabberjaw - The Complete Series (Warner Archive, $29.95) Wowee-wow-wow-wow! Warner Archive has released all 16 episodes of Jabberjaw in a four-disc set. Jabberjaw is one of many Scooby-Doo clones that came along in the 1970s, each featuring a group of "meddling teenagers" and some sort of talking animal or other inanimate object. This time, the teenagers are a rock group called "The Neptunes" who live underwater with their talking 15-foot white shark named Jabberjaw (whose voice and mannerisms resemble Curly of The Three Stooges) in the year 2076. The Neptunes must thwart evil villains while traveling their undersea civilization performing concerts. Somehow or another, Jabberjaw always manages to save the day. Each show also features one or two songs sung by the Neptune.
If you ask me, the show is a bit too silly. The plots tend to go a little on the ridiculous side, and Jabberjaw himself can be a bit annoying at times. Also annoying is the 1970s cartoon laugh track which seems to play at inappropriate times.
Jabberjaw lasted only one short season on ABC from 1976 to 1977, but did air in Sunday morning reruns for another season. Among the notable episodes in this set: in the premiere, "Dr. Lo Has Got to Go," the gang must keep the evil Dr. Lo from unleashing his Gorgon onto the city of Aquahama. In "There's No Place Like Outer Space," the gang must stop an alien invasion. And in "The Bermuda Triangle Tangle," the gang is taken captive after traveling through the Bermuda Triangle.
The set is from Warner Archive and is, therefore, a manufacture-on-demand set on DVD-R's. There's a small chance the discs won't play on certain DVD players or drives, but I had no problem with any of the discs. The 16 episodes seem to be uncut, but run a little fast and may be sourced from overseas prints sped up to the PAL standard. I don't think anything is edited from the shows, but I could be wrong. Runtimes from all the episodes are below:
Disc 1:
1. Dr. Lo Has Got to Go (21:40)
2. There's No Place Like Outer Space (20:54)
3. Atlantis Get Lost (20:49)
4. Run, Jabber, Run (20:48)
Disc 2:
5. The Sourpuss Octopus (20:51)
6. Hang On to Your Hat, Jabber (20:49)
7. The Great White Shark Switch (20:53)
8. Claim-Jumped Jabber (20:45)
Disc 3:
9. Ali Jabber and the Secret Thieves (20:48)
10. Help, Help, It's the Phantom of the Kelp (20:44)
11. The Helpin' the Sculpin (20:45)
12. The Bermuda Triangle Tangle (20:44)
Disc 4:
13. Malice in Aqualand (20:48)
14. The Fast Paced Chase Race (20:47)
15. The Pirhana Plot (20:51)
16. There's No Heel like El Eel (20:48)
The discs are stored in a clear multi-disc Amaray case, with moving pages holding the discs. These are the cases that are of a thinner and cheaper plastic, but my set seems to be holding up. The front cover features a shot of all the characters and the Jabberjaw logo, along with "Hanna Barbera Classic Collection." Disc artwork features a shot of Jabberjaw and a listing of which episodes can be found on the disc.
We're treated to another actual menu screen as opposed to a generic one like have been on some previous Warner Archive sets. The menu is the title card from the Jabberjaw opening credits, and you can choose Play All, or an episode number. Episode titles are not provided on the menu, though they are listed on the discs themselves, it's kind of inconvenient to either have to look at the disc and know which number you want to watch beforehand, or to have to remove the disc to figure out which show you want to watch. There are no closed captions or subtitles. Chapter marks are placed at the 10 and 20 minute marks within the episodes. I don't find this very useful, and think the chapter marks would have been better placed at commercial breaks.
Video and audio quality are mostly good. As this is a MOD set, no remastering work was done. As many of the episodes are sped up overseas prints, the video at times is very bad. Audio mixing doesn't seem like it's always quite right. Music sometimes seems louder than dialogue or the lyrics being sung.
Again, no special features. None of the Hanna-Barbera sets released through the Warner Archive have had any, so this should come as no surprise.
Overall, Jabberjaw is an OK show, but definitely one of its time. I'm not a huge fan of Scooby-Doo clones, and this one really tends to go on the ridiculous side, but if you like this sort of show, or if you're a huge Hanna-Barbera fan, I can definitely recommend this set. If not, then you might be better off skipping it. The set does have its problems, not the least of which being the episode length issues. Jabber up!
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Warner Archive
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Jabberjaw TV.com page
LOOKING AHEAD
Hopefully better weeks are ahead, but we've been saying that for a while and the studios have been disappointing us! Frankly, the news has been slow because of "the turds who are currently in place... can you imagine going back into the sludge-pit with those knuckleheads at this point? It would go bad quickly." (OK, I promise, no more Charlie Sheen next week). We will go a little north of the border with a review of an upcoming release of The Red Green Show soon, and hopefully have more feature stories for you. Until then, keep it digital!
DIGITAL NEWS
News in the world of DVDs has been slow this week, but we do have an announcement for American Dad - Volume 6. Scheduled to be released on April 19, the three disc set will contain 18 episodes at a $39.98 MSRP, along with plenty of commentaries.
We now step into the non-physical realm of home media and into Amazon.com. Amazon Prime has been available for some time now, but there is now a new feature included with this that is certain to please movie (and especially) TV fans everywhere: the ability to watch programs on-demand for free with your paid annual subscription. According to the press release,
Movies and TV shows included with an Amazon Prime membership can be watched instantly on Macs, PCs and nearly 200 models of Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes that are compatible with Amazon Instant Video. The selection of videos available for instant streaming currently includes movies, such as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy, "Amadeus," "Syriana," and "Chariots of Fire," noted documentaries such as "Food Inc.," "March of the Penguins" and "Ken Burns' National Parks," plus TV shows, such as "Doctor Who," "Farscape," "Fawlty Towers" and children's shows, such as "Arthur," "Caillou," "Super Why!" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."It seems to be a bit lacking on the sitcom front of now, but if you have Netflix, there is even better news! With just a basic $7.99 streaming-only subscription, you can get tons of movies and TV series, but a new deal with CBS Corporation means that you'll be able to watch many of your favorite TV series from the CBS library, including many sitcoms. According to the press release:
Content covered under the new deal includes the long-running drama, "Medium" and the summer season favorite, "Flashpoint." Also covered under the agreement are episodes from some of television's most iconic franchises. Full seasons of sitcom greats "Frasier," "Family Ties" and "Cheers" will be streaming instantly from Netflix. Episodes from the original "Hawaii Five-0" are included in the package, as are episodes from all generations of the definitive sci-fi series, "Star Trek," and the cult favorite, "Twin Peaks." Installments of '60s classics, "The Twilight Zone" and "The Andy Griffith Show," will be available as well.Full seasons of the series sounds very promising, hopefully these will extend beyond just what is available to own on DVD already.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 1) is a very disappointing day for releases, with the only release of note being Leave it to Beaver - Season Six. We will have a review of this set posted soon on our Main DVD Reviews Page.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
There are many obscure Hanna-Barbera series out there, and Warner Archive has been bringing us many of these as manufacture-on-demand titles over the past few months. We brought you a review of Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch - The Complete Series last week, and this week, we have a review of another series, Jabberjaw, a series about a 15-foot tall talking shark from the future who plays in a rock-and-roll band and also manages to find time on the side to solve crimes with his teenage rock group. It's a series that only Saturday morning TV in the 1970s could have brought you, and now all 18 episodes are available on DVD in Jabberjaw - The Complete Series.
DVD Review: Jabberjaw - The Complete Series
by Greg Brobeck
Jabberjaw - The Complete Series (Warner Archive, $29.95) Wowee-wow-wow-wow! Warner Archive has released all 16 episodes of Jabberjaw in a four-disc set. Jabberjaw is one of many Scooby-Doo clones that came along in the 1970s, each featuring a group of "meddling teenagers" and some sort of talking animal or other inanimate object. This time, the teenagers are a rock group called "The Neptunes" who live underwater with their talking 15-foot white shark named Jabberjaw (whose voice and mannerisms resemble Curly of The Three Stooges) in the year 2076. The Neptunes must thwart evil villains while traveling their undersea civilization performing concerts. Somehow or another, Jabberjaw always manages to save the day. Each show also features one or two songs sung by the Neptune.
If you ask me, the show is a bit too silly. The plots tend to go a little on the ridiculous side, and Jabberjaw himself can be a bit annoying at times. Also annoying is the 1970s cartoon laugh track which seems to play at inappropriate times.
Jabberjaw lasted only one short season on ABC from 1976 to 1977, but did air in Sunday morning reruns for another season. Among the notable episodes in this set: in the premiere, "Dr. Lo Has Got to Go," the gang must keep the evil Dr. Lo from unleashing his Gorgon onto the city of Aquahama. In "There's No Place Like Outer Space," the gang must stop an alien invasion. And in "The Bermuda Triangle Tangle," the gang is taken captive after traveling through the Bermuda Triangle.
The set is from Warner Archive and is, therefore, a manufacture-on-demand set on DVD-R's. There's a small chance the discs won't play on certain DVD players or drives, but I had no problem with any of the discs. The 16 episodes seem to be uncut, but run a little fast and may be sourced from overseas prints sped up to the PAL standard. I don't think anything is edited from the shows, but I could be wrong. Runtimes from all the episodes are below:
Disc 1:
1. Dr. Lo Has Got to Go (21:40)
2. There's No Place Like Outer Space (20:54)
3. Atlantis Get Lost (20:49)
4. Run, Jabber, Run (20:48)
Disc 2:
5. The Sourpuss Octopus (20:51)
6. Hang On to Your Hat, Jabber (20:49)
7. The Great White Shark Switch (20:53)
8. Claim-Jumped Jabber (20:45)
Disc 3:
9. Ali Jabber and the Secret Thieves (20:48)
10. Help, Help, It's the Phantom of the Kelp (20:44)
11. The Helpin' the Sculpin (20:45)
12. The Bermuda Triangle Tangle (20:44)
Disc 4:
13. Malice in Aqualand (20:48)
14. The Fast Paced Chase Race (20:47)
15. The Pirhana Plot (20:51)
16. There's No Heel like El Eel (20:48)
The discs are stored in a clear multi-disc Amaray case, with moving pages holding the discs. These are the cases that are of a thinner and cheaper plastic, but my set seems to be holding up. The front cover features a shot of all the characters and the Jabberjaw logo, along with "Hanna Barbera Classic Collection." Disc artwork features a shot of Jabberjaw and a listing of which episodes can be found on the disc.
We're treated to another actual menu screen as opposed to a generic one like have been on some previous Warner Archive sets. The menu is the title card from the Jabberjaw opening credits, and you can choose Play All, or an episode number. Episode titles are not provided on the menu, though they are listed on the discs themselves, it's kind of inconvenient to either have to look at the disc and know which number you want to watch beforehand, or to have to remove the disc to figure out which show you want to watch. There are no closed captions or subtitles. Chapter marks are placed at the 10 and 20 minute marks within the episodes. I don't find this very useful, and think the chapter marks would have been better placed at commercial breaks.
Video and audio quality are mostly good. As this is a MOD set, no remastering work was done. As many of the episodes are sped up overseas prints, the video at times is very bad. Audio mixing doesn't seem like it's always quite right. Music sometimes seems louder than dialogue or the lyrics being sung.
Again, no special features. None of the Hanna-Barbera sets released through the Warner Archive have had any, so this should come as no surprise.
Overall, Jabberjaw is an OK show, but definitely one of its time. I'm not a huge fan of Scooby-Doo clones, and this one really tends to go on the ridiculous side, but if you like this sort of show, or if you're a huge Hanna-Barbera fan, I can definitely recommend this set. If not, then you might be better off skipping it. The set does have its problems, not the least of which being the episode length issues. Jabber up!
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Warner Archive
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Jabberjaw TV.com page
LOOKING AHEAD
Hopefully better weeks are ahead, but we've been saying that for a while and the studios have been disappointing us! Frankly, the news has been slow because of "the turds who are currently in place... can you imagine going back into the sludge-pit with those knuckleheads at this point? It would go bad quickly." (OK, I promise, no more Charlie Sheen next week). We will go a little north of the border with a review of an upcoming release of The Red Green Show soon, and hopefully have more feature stories for you. Until then, keep it digital!
Friday, February 25, 2011
CBS/Warner Bros Cancel Production on Two and a Half Men For Rest of Season; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 28, 2011)
As you all know by now, Charlie Sheen ranted on the Alex Jones radio program yesterday (from the Bahamas) about Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre (with vulgar words and even referred to him by his Jewish name). Shortly after that, CBS and Warner Bros. released this short statement:
After CBS and Warner Bros. released that statement, Sheen went off even more and released a letter to TMZ. Sheen will later go on to release that he has an HBO show coming out that will pay him $5 million an episode, which HBO later denies. And then this morning he told Good Morning America that he plans on going to the Men set next week anyway for work. Wow. What drama. Sheen is now making up in his head that he has a deal with HBO? And he wants to go back on his sitcom set when no one will be there and after he said all this? I hate to be mean, but he needs help...and fast. Stay with us for updates on the CBS schedule (we won't cover the gossip any further).
In other news (but more peacheful news), join The Hub for a special episode of the original animated series Dan Vs. featuring actor Henry Winkler. Winkler, of course best known for his role as Fonzie on the classic sitcom Happy Days (which can be seen on The Hub Mon-Thurs at 8), will lend his voice to character Helicopter Hall in the upcoming episode, "Traffic."
Dan Vs. is The Hub's half-hour animated series featuring Dan, a loveable misanthrope who takes on different adversaries with his pal Chris, on a ceaseless quest for justice in various misadventures. Winkler's cameo will complement the current Dan Vs.” cast including Curtis Armstong (Revenge of the Nerds), Dave Foley (The Kids in the Hall) and Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds). Watch the episode on Saturday, February 26 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on The Hub!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Feb. 28-March 4, 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, February 28, 2011
"Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition, CBSThat means the series will not return to tape the four episodes that they were going to tape, which was set to start next week. They originally had a 24 episode order, but since Sheen was in rehab in January, they had to make the episode order at 20 episodes due to lack of time. Now it will remain at 16 episodes and we won't have any more new episodes this season. CBS aired a repeat of Two and a Half Men this past Monday (Feb. 14) and has scheduled repeats to air for the foreseeable future. But now with no more new episodes taping, CBS could change the schedule a bit. But how much and is it worth it this late in the season? One quick change they could do is to move How I Met Your Mother to 9pm and move the repeats of Two and a Half Men to 8pm. I doubt they would do that until May sweeps, though. I don't think they will move back The Big Bang Theory to Mondays this season. CBS already ordered two extra episodes each of Rules of Engagement and Mike & Molly (26 episodes each), so maybe they will be used at some point at Monday 9pm. Stay tuned for updates!
and Warner Bros. Television have decided to discontinue production of Two
and a Half Men for the remainder of the season."
After CBS and Warner Bros. released that statement, Sheen went off even more and released a letter to TMZ. Sheen will later go on to release that he has an HBO show coming out that will pay him $5 million an episode, which HBO later denies. And then this morning he told Good Morning America that he plans on going to the Men set next week anyway for work. Wow. What drama. Sheen is now making up in his head that he has a deal with HBO? And he wants to go back on his sitcom set when no one will be there and after he said all this? I hate to be mean, but he needs help...and fast. Stay with us for updates on the CBS schedule (we won't cover the gossip any further).
In other news (but more peacheful news), join The Hub for a special episode of the original animated series Dan Vs. featuring actor Henry Winkler. Winkler, of course best known for his role as Fonzie on the classic sitcom Happy Days (which can be seen on The Hub Mon-Thurs at 8), will lend his voice to character Helicopter Hall in the upcoming episode, "Traffic."
Dan Vs. is The Hub's half-hour animated series featuring Dan, a loveable misanthrope who takes on different adversaries with his pal Chris, on a ceaseless quest for justice in various misadventures. Winkler's cameo will complement the current Dan Vs.” cast including Curtis Armstong (Revenge of the Nerds), Dave Foley (The Kids in the Hall) and Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds). Watch the episode on Saturday, February 26 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on The Hub!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Feb. 28-March 4, 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, February 28, 2011
- Judy Greer (Mad Love/Miss Guided) - Watch Judy on Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Christina Applegate (Married with Children/Samantha Who/Jesse) - Watch Christina on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Topher Grace (That '70s Show) - Catch Topher on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check listings, then in late nght on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:37am.
- Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time) - Watch Mack on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/Golden Girls/Mary Tyler Moore Show) - See Betty on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matthew Perry (Mr. Sunshine/Friends) - Catch Matthew on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) - Watch the classic TV mom on TODAY on NBC sometime between 7-9am.
- John O'Hurley (Seinfeld) - Watch John on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Nick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am only on ABC.
- Matthew Perry (Mr. Sunshine/Friends) - Watch Matthew on ABC's The View at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland/Frasier) - Jane visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) - Watch Meredith on The Oprah Show, so check your listings and then later on The Joy Behar Show at 9pm on HLN.
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Watch Jerry on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser) - Watch Doogie...err Neil on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Topher Grace (That '70s Show) - Watch Topher on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, check listings, then in late night on Lopez Tonight at 12am on TBS.
- Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) - Meredith returns for a second day on NBC's TODAY, probably in the 9am or 10am hour.
- Carolyn Hennesy (Cougar Town) - Watch Barb herself on The Mo'nique Show on BET at 11pm.
- Terry Crews (Are We There Yet/Everybody Hates Chris) - Watch Terry bake crumb cake on The Martha Stewart Show at 10am on Hallmark Channel.
- None.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Black History Month Closes with Cosby Show, 227 Marathons; ivi TV Shuts Down?
While our pick of this weekend is Saturday's Empty Nest premiere marathon on The Hallmark Channel, there are other options for marathon viewing as well. This weekend will close out February, which is of course Black History Month, and Centric and GMC will showcase marathons of The Cosby Show and 227! Both series air regularly on the networks, but it is still good to have a marathon. The Cosby Show has its marathon on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 11am-10pm followed by the Centric premiere of the two-hour retrospective The Cosby Show: A Look Back from 10pm-12am. The marathon episodes are going in order with episodes 33-54 airing. Those are classic episodes! View the episode titles and times.
GMC will have a 227 marathon on Sunday, February 27 from 10am-1am on Oscar Sunday! And it's also 2-27, get it? The episodes won't go in order, but will indeed start with the premiere episode "Honesty" and will feature many guest stars again as well such as LaWanda Page, Benard Ighner, John Houseman, Mary Wilson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Florence Griffith Joyner, Willie Amakye, Ray Combs, Gene Wood, Cuba Gooding Jr., Johnny Gilbert, Joan Rivers and Gary Coleman. Select episodes from all five seasons will air. View the episode titles and times. The day before on Saturday, Feb. 26, GMC premieres the World Premiere Original Gospel Stage Play Movie The Ideal Husband at 7pm that stars 227's Jackee Harry, Clifton Powell, Darrin Henson, Shanti Lowry, Shirley Murdock and Ginuwine. A couple is joyously expecting their first child, but a secret from the husband's past threatens to destroy their happiness. Tracey, soon to be a new mother, is overjoyed at finally being able to have a child and prepares for a visit from her family for a big celebration. Her husband Devin, sidelined from the NFL due to a football injury, is also elated while physically working to build up his strength to return to the game. Their world, despite their financial hardships, is a happy one until Tracey receives a visitor at her beauty shop that reveals a past indiscretion that makes her question, if her world is as happy and stable as she believes. Leading into the movie will be regularly scheduled airings of Jackee's TV series: Sister, Sister from 10am-2pm and 227 from 2pm-7pm.
ivi TV, the online cable system, was forced to shutdown. Don't know what ivi is? Read our story from December. On Tuesday, February 22, 2011 the Southern District Court of New York granted a preliminary injunction in the case 1:10-cv-07415-NRB. ivi TV will be appealing the decision in the second circuit but in the interim they must shut-down most of their broadcast channel offerings.
They believe the court made an error in the ruling and will be appealing the decision supported by many public interest groups. But they cannot do it alone. In return, they ask that you support them. If you can, visit Public Knowledge and/or EFF to leave a donation.
In the interim they are suspending invoicing for ivi Air and ivi Pro, so it is not necessary to cancel subscriptions. As soon as they can restore the channels they will resume the subscriptions from that point forward.
They will continue to carry a number of channels and will be adding channels from broadcasters and content providers as they grow. Stay tuned for further updates.
GMC will have a 227 marathon on Sunday, February 27 from 10am-1am on Oscar Sunday! And it's also 2-27, get it? The episodes won't go in order, but will indeed start with the premiere episode "Honesty" and will feature many guest stars again as well such as LaWanda Page, Benard Ighner, John Houseman, Mary Wilson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Florence Griffith Joyner, Willie Amakye, Ray Combs, Gene Wood, Cuba Gooding Jr., Johnny Gilbert, Joan Rivers and Gary Coleman. Select episodes from all five seasons will air. View the episode titles and times. The day before on Saturday, Feb. 26, GMC premieres the World Premiere Original Gospel Stage Play Movie The Ideal Husband at 7pm that stars 227's Jackee Harry, Clifton Powell, Darrin Henson, Shanti Lowry, Shirley Murdock and Ginuwine. A couple is joyously expecting their first child, but a secret from the husband's past threatens to destroy their happiness. Tracey, soon to be a new mother, is overjoyed at finally being able to have a child and prepares for a visit from her family for a big celebration. Her husband Devin, sidelined from the NFL due to a football injury, is also elated while physically working to build up his strength to return to the game. Their world, despite their financial hardships, is a happy one until Tracey receives a visitor at her beauty shop that reveals a past indiscretion that makes her question, if her world is as happy and stable as she believes. Leading into the movie will be regularly scheduled airings of Jackee's TV series: Sister, Sister from 10am-2pm and 227 from 2pm-7pm.
ivi TV, the online cable system, was forced to shutdown. Don't know what ivi is? Read our story from December. On Tuesday, February 22, 2011 the Southern District Court of New York granted a preliminary injunction in the case 1:10-cv-07415-NRB. ivi TV will be appealing the decision in the second circuit but in the interim they must shut-down most of their broadcast channel offerings.
They believe the court made an error in the ruling and will be appealing the decision supported by many public interest groups. But they cannot do it alone. In return, they ask that you support them. If you can, visit Public Knowledge and/or EFF to leave a donation.
In the interim they are suspending invoicing for ivi Air and ivi Pro, so it is not necessary to cancel subscriptions. As soon as they can restore the channels they will resume the subscriptions from that point forward.
They will continue to carry a number of channels and will be adding channels from broadcasters and content providers as they grow. Stay tuned for further updates.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Seinfeld Moving In Many Markets In March; Network Notes
Seinfeld will be starting its fourth broadcast syndication cycle during the week of March 20, 2011. That is pretty rare these days to have such big clearances for a fourth term. Seinfeld has been in broadcast syndication for 15 years now (since Sept. 1995) and this fourth cycle will have it last through March 2015. Seinfeld will be moving in many markets to other stations, though starting March 20. Tribune Broadcasting has gotten the sitcom back in at least three markets from Fox: New York (WPIX), Dallas (KDAF) and Washington (WDCW). It was airing on the local Fox stations in those three markets for the last 10 years. In Seattle, Tribune's KZJO (MyNetwork affiliate) will get the show now after airing on CBS-owned KSTW (CW affiliate). Other non-Tribune stations will also get the show, such as in Boston, Seinfeld leaves Fox's WFXT for CBS-owned independent WSBK. In Chicago it will go from the Fox-owned station WFLD to Weigel-owned independent WCIU. It is remaining on Fox-owned KTTV in Los Angeles because they renewed it. It is best that you check your local listings for the week of March 20, 2011 to see if Seinfeld has moved to another station in your market that we haven't mentioned here.
As for WPIX in NYC, we have the full details of Seinfeld's timeslots and the changes being made as a result on WNYW/WWOR! Seinfeld will start on WPIX on Sunday, March 20 at 9pm & 9:30pm with the very first two episodes. Then it will start weekdays the very next day on Monday, March 21 at 11pm & 11:30pm. Best-of episodes will be airing, so it isn't in any order. The Sunday airings will be going in order, though. As a result of Seinfeld joining the WPIX schedule, some changes will be made on three stations. Essentially WNYW is replacing Seinfeld with a third Simpsons airing at 11:30pm and a third TMZ on TV airing at 12:30am. The weekend airing will be replaced by an airing of Everybody Loves Raymond on Sundays at 11:30pm. Sister network WWOR aired the show Sundays at 7:30pm, but now they will add a second run of The Deadliest Catch. WPIX of course has made the most changes. On Sundays, they will split up Ugly Betty. It was airing 7pm and 8pm, now it will be 1pm and 7pm, with Friends moving into the 8pm hour since Seinfeld is coming at 9pm. For weekdays, Old Christine is getting the late night treatment and being reduced to just a half-hour going from 5-6pm to 1:30am. Family Guy will now air weekdays in the 6pm hour instead of 7:30pm and 1am, while Two and a Half Men gets the 7pm hour now since Seinfeld has taken the full 11pm hour. Seinfeld will lead into Curb Your Enthusiasm at 12am, to try and boost that series' ratings. And finally, Frasier is leaving local broadcast syndication nationwide before the start of the week of March 7. So, March 5 or March 6 will be the last airings. In New York, it is on WPIX and it is only airing Friday and Saturday late nights (early Saturday and Sunday mornings), but it seems American Dad! isn't doing well in the ratings as its primetime Saturday 9pm & 9:30pm airings is going to being moved to 4:30am & 5am. Ouch. It will remain in the Saturday 12am hour, though.
View the full list of changes in New York as a result of Seinfeld moving and Frasier leaving broadcast syndication.
We have some network notes for you today as well. NBC issued pickups for three returning alternative series in 2011-12 in The Biggest Loser, Who Do You Think You Are? and the singing competition series The Sing-Off. Missing from this list is Minute to Win It, which has done OK in the ratings but suffers a lot against heavy competition. Also missing is The Apprentice, but the celebrity version starts on Sunday, March 6.
Syfy has acquired both seasons (31 episodes) of the acclaimed fan-favorite Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. With the movie Terminator 3 as the lead-in, the series will join the Syfy line-up on Thursday, April 7 with two episodes from 9-11PM (ET/PT). The regular time slot will be Thursdays from 7-11PM (ET/PT). Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ran for two seasons (2007-09) on Fox and Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Brian Austin Green, Garret Dillahunt, Shirley Manson, Leven Rambin and Richard T. Jones starred in the series. Elsewhere on Syfy April 2011, there is a Mork & Mindy sighting on Thursday, April 1, 2011 at 8am--no foolin' either! This is in addition to the March sightings. Monday, April 11, at 11am will see a filler airing of short-lived drama Moonlight. And Thursday nights (early Friday mornings) at 5am will see drama Early Edition air all month starting April 7.
And finally, CSI gets yet another airing removed on USA Network. Another episode of NCIS will replace CSI on Fridays at 9pm starting Friday, March 4, 2011. NCIS will now air on Fridays from 7pm-10pm, while CSI will air from 10pm-12am.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Cheers Airing on ReelzChannel TV; ABC Family Picks Up Another Original Series
Another sitcom has joined the ReelzChannel TV line-up. Lost in the shuffle was Cheers coming to the network on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. We're sorry we didn't get to tell you in advance, but Cheers airs on the ReelzChannel TV programming lineup seven days a week with back-to-back episodes airing at 10am ET and 10:30am ET. Weekdays also features an encore of Cheers in late nights at 1am ET and 1:30am ET.
"As one of the most acclaimed television shows ever, Cheers has a tremendous fan base who will appreciate being able to watch the series every day of the week on ReelzChannel and both seasoned and new viewers will have the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning," said Mike Smith SVP of ReelzChannel Programming.
Cheers is a top-rated, 28-time Emmy-winning half-hour comedy series centering on the colorful characters who frequent a Boston bar owned by former Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson). It joins a line-up with other sitcoms as well including Ted Danson's other sitcom Becker, NewsRadio and 3rd Rock from the Sun. With the addition of the sitcom, some of the timings changed on Jan. 31, so we'll recap the series schedule for you. The weekday series line-up has Carson's Comedy Classics still at 8am ET, followed still by Becker at 9am ET, with Cheers now at 10am ET, and NewsRadio rounds out the morning schedule at 11am ET. Jumping to 2pm ET, an encore of NewsRadio airs, followed by back-to-back hours of comedic law series Ally McBeal at 3pm and 4pm ET. In the evening line-up, an encore of Becker airs in the 6pm ET hour leading into an hour of 3rd Rock from the Sun. A primetime movie airs at 8pm ET leading into family drama Brothers & Sisters at 10pm ET. Then another movie airs at 11pm ET leading into the Cheers encore at 1am ET. On Saturdays, Becker is still at 9am ET and is Cheers at 10am ET, with an encore of Becker in the 6pm ET hour leading into an hour of 3rd Rock from the Sun. All of that is the same as weekdays. The Sunday line-up for series has Becker at 9am ET and Cheers at 10am ET again. There is also back-to-back episodes of family drama Brothers & Sisters at 12 noon ET and 1pm ET. And Becker encore is once again in the 6pm ET hour.
Cheers on the ReelzChannel schedule is a nice addition and we hope some more sitcoms join the line-up soon as well. Cheers can also still be seen weekday afternoons on WGN America, weekday mornings on HDnet and late nights every week night on the Hallmark Channel. ReelzChannel TV is carried via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 238) and DISH Network (Channel 299). Local cable channel information is available on the website's home page through a zip code look-up. The network is the exclusive home for the upcoming eight-part mini-series The Kennedys (starring Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, and Tom Wilkinson), with the world premiere on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
In addition to the two drama and sitcom pick-ups a few weeks ago, ABC Family has picked-up one more drama. ABC Family has picked up The Lying Game. The series follows Emma, a kind-hearted foster kid who learns she has an identical twin sister, Sutton. Sutton, unlike Emma, was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life. After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on the mysterious identity of their birth mother. After Sutton inexplicably fails to return to the girls' designated meeting place, Emma must decide whether to come clean about her identity and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister's whereabouts, along with the truth about why they were separated in the first place.
The Lying Game stars Alexandra Chando (As The World Turns) as Emma/Sutton; Andy Buckley (The Office) as Ted; Helen Slater as Kristin; Blair Redford (90210) as Garrett; Sharon Pierre-Louis (Lincoln Heights) as Nisha; Kirsten Prout (Kyle XY) as Char; Alice Greczyn (Lincoln Heights) as Mads; and Allie Gonino (10 Things I Hate About You) as Laurel.
Charles Pratt, Jr. (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives) serves as executive producer and writer; Leslie Morgenstein (Pretty Little Liars, The Nine Lives of Chloe King) and Gina Girolamo will serve as executive producers. Produced by Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television, the series is based on the novel by author Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars).
The drama joins a roster of other new series, including the one-hour dramas The Nine Lives of Chloe King and Switched at Birth, and the half-hour multi-cam comedy series, The Great State of Georgia. This drama would work well paired-up with ABC Family's hit series Pretty Little Liars, which is also based on a novel by Sara Shepard. It is unclear how many episodes have been ordered and when the series will premiere this year. Pretty Little Liars is returning with its second season in the summer (likely June), as its first season wraps up on March 21.
"As one of the most acclaimed television shows ever, Cheers has a tremendous fan base who will appreciate being able to watch the series every day of the week on ReelzChannel and both seasoned and new viewers will have the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning," said Mike Smith SVP of ReelzChannel Programming.
Cheers is a top-rated, 28-time Emmy-winning half-hour comedy series centering on the colorful characters who frequent a Boston bar owned by former Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson). It joins a line-up with other sitcoms as well including Ted Danson's other sitcom Becker, NewsRadio and 3rd Rock from the Sun. With the addition of the sitcom, some of the timings changed on Jan. 31, so we'll recap the series schedule for you. The weekday series line-up has Carson's Comedy Classics still at 8am ET, followed still by Becker at 9am ET, with Cheers now at 10am ET, and NewsRadio rounds out the morning schedule at 11am ET. Jumping to 2pm ET, an encore of NewsRadio airs, followed by back-to-back hours of comedic law series Ally McBeal at 3pm and 4pm ET. In the evening line-up, an encore of Becker airs in the 6pm ET hour leading into an hour of 3rd Rock from the Sun. A primetime movie airs at 8pm ET leading into family drama Brothers & Sisters at 10pm ET. Then another movie airs at 11pm ET leading into the Cheers encore at 1am ET. On Saturdays, Becker is still at 9am ET and is Cheers at 10am ET, with an encore of Becker in the 6pm ET hour leading into an hour of 3rd Rock from the Sun. All of that is the same as weekdays. The Sunday line-up for series has Becker at 9am ET and Cheers at 10am ET again. There is also back-to-back episodes of family drama Brothers & Sisters at 12 noon ET and 1pm ET. And Becker encore is once again in the 6pm ET hour.
Cheers on the ReelzChannel schedule is a nice addition and we hope some more sitcoms join the line-up soon as well. Cheers can also still be seen weekday afternoons on WGN America, weekday mornings on HDnet and late nights every week night on the Hallmark Channel. ReelzChannel TV is carried via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 238) and DISH Network (Channel 299). Local cable channel information is available on the website's home page through a zip code look-up. The network is the exclusive home for the upcoming eight-part mini-series The Kennedys (starring Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, and Tom Wilkinson), with the world premiere on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
In addition to the two drama and sitcom pick-ups a few weeks ago, ABC Family has picked-up one more drama. ABC Family has picked up The Lying Game. The series follows Emma, a kind-hearted foster kid who learns she has an identical twin sister, Sutton. Sutton, unlike Emma, was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life. After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on the mysterious identity of their birth mother. After Sutton inexplicably fails to return to the girls' designated meeting place, Emma must decide whether to come clean about her identity and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister's whereabouts, along with the truth about why they were separated in the first place.
The Lying Game stars Alexandra Chando (As The World Turns) as Emma/Sutton; Andy Buckley (The Office) as Ted; Helen Slater as Kristin; Blair Redford (90210) as Garrett; Sharon Pierre-Louis (Lincoln Heights) as Nisha; Kirsten Prout (Kyle XY) as Char; Alice Greczyn (Lincoln Heights) as Mads; and Allie Gonino (10 Things I Hate About You) as Laurel.
Charles Pratt, Jr. (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives) serves as executive producer and writer; Leslie Morgenstein (Pretty Little Liars, The Nine Lives of Chloe King) and Gina Girolamo will serve as executive producers. Produced by Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television, the series is based on the novel by author Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars).
The drama joins a roster of other new series, including the one-hour dramas The Nine Lives of Chloe King and Switched at Birth, and the half-hour multi-cam comedy series, The Great State of Georgia. This drama would work well paired-up with ABC Family's hit series Pretty Little Liars, which is also based on a novel by Sara Shepard. It is unclear how many episodes have been ordered and when the series will premiere this year. Pretty Little Liars is returning with its second season in the summer (likely June), as its first season wraps up on March 21.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Hallmark Channel March 2011 Marathons; Fox Gets Mobbed on March 31
A couple of weeks ago we told you about Empty Nest getting a marathon on Saturday, Feb. 26 on the Hallmark Channel, now we have the episode info for the marathon. We broke the news on our message board on Friday that the complete first season will air (all 22 episodes), with each episode being encored (the first four episodes will air three times, though). View the episode schedule for the Empty Nest marathon this coming Saturday.
We also have the updated March 2011 schedule for Hallmark. And it seems Empty Nest is NOT being added to the regular schedule just yet. So, for now, it will be only the marathon on Saturday, Feb. 26. I'm sure if the marathon does well in the ratings it will be added soon...so don't give up hope yet. Just make sure you WATCH most or all of the episodes!
As we mentioned previously, there will be plenty of 24-hour marathons on Hallmark in March. In addition to Empty Nest and The Golden Girls this coming weekend (Feb. 26-27), Hallmark has added more sitcom marathons! The Little House on the Prairie marathon that was scheduled for Saturday, March 5 will now be a 24-hour marathon of Who's the Boss? starting at 6am! Then the very next day on Sunday, March 6, Hallmark will present a 24-hour marathon of another '80s classic...Cheers, again starting at 6am (but this one is through 4am). The weekend of March 12-13 will actually be two days worth of I Love Lucy! It's all Lucy, all weekend long! This means the scheduled Touched by an Angel stunt on March 13 is no longer happening. And the final marathon for March will be a 24-hour marathon of drama Little House on the Prairie on Saturday, March 26 starting at 6am!
View the updated March 2011 marathons and the full schedule. Stay with us for more as we will keep you up to date on Empty Nest scheduling info and the upcoming April schedule with Frasier being added.
Finally, Fox is getting mobbed on Thursday, March 31 at 9pm. The new unscripted special Mobbed will premiere Thursday, March 31 at 9:00 PM ET/PT following American Idol on Fox (Bones will be preempted for a week). Host Howie Mandel puts a hidden-camera spin on the "flash mob" concept. Mandel and hundreds of strangers will help special guests plan extraordinary surprises for friends, family members, loved ones or co-workers. These unknowing participants will be shocked and stunned by surprise performances that lead up to fantastic reveals that include a husband learning that his wife is pregnant, an applicant finding out that she got the job and a marriage proposal, among others.
This will be the only scheduled airing of this series, as of now. Mobbed replaces the previously announced preview of the Untitled Jamie Foxx/Affion Crocket Project (wt), which will still premiere this June. It is likely Mobbed, could be paired with this in the summer. Stay tuned.
We also have the updated March 2011 schedule for Hallmark. And it seems Empty Nest is NOT being added to the regular schedule just yet. So, for now, it will be only the marathon on Saturday, Feb. 26. I'm sure if the marathon does well in the ratings it will be added soon...so don't give up hope yet. Just make sure you WATCH most or all of the episodes!
As we mentioned previously, there will be plenty of 24-hour marathons on Hallmark in March. In addition to Empty Nest and The Golden Girls this coming weekend (Feb. 26-27), Hallmark has added more sitcom marathons! The Little House on the Prairie marathon that was scheduled for Saturday, March 5 will now be a 24-hour marathon of Who's the Boss? starting at 6am! Then the very next day on Sunday, March 6, Hallmark will present a 24-hour marathon of another '80s classic...Cheers, again starting at 6am (but this one is through 4am). The weekend of March 12-13 will actually be two days worth of I Love Lucy! It's all Lucy, all weekend long! This means the scheduled Touched by an Angel stunt on March 13 is no longer happening. And the final marathon for March will be a 24-hour marathon of drama Little House on the Prairie on Saturday, March 26 starting at 6am!
View the updated March 2011 marathons and the full schedule. Stay with us for more as we will keep you up to date on Empty Nest scheduling info and the upcoming April schedule with Frasier being added.
Finally, Fox is getting mobbed on Thursday, March 31 at 9pm. The new unscripted special Mobbed will premiere Thursday, March 31 at 9:00 PM ET/PT following American Idol on Fox (Bones will be preempted for a week). Host Howie Mandel puts a hidden-camera spin on the "flash mob" concept. Mandel and hundreds of strangers will help special guests plan extraordinary surprises for friends, family members, loved ones or co-workers. These unknowing participants will be shocked and stunned by surprise performances that lead up to fantastic reveals that include a husband learning that his wife is pregnant, an applicant finding out that she got the job and a marriage proposal, among others.
This will be the only scheduled airing of this series, as of now. Mobbed replaces the previously announced preview of the Untitled Jamie Foxx/Affion Crocket Project (wt), which will still premiere this June. It is likely Mobbed, could be paired with this in the summer. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, November 4
Scrubs - "My Story" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
J.D. and Elliot reconnect while managing a difficult parenting conversation; the interns grapple with work-life balance.
Abbott Elementary - "Courtney" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Gregory and Melissa come together to address an issue with a teacher; Janine spends time with Courtney.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 2)
Wednesday, November 4
- Timothy Simons (Nobody Wants This/HouseBroken/Veep) - Watch Timothy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Tracy Morgan (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Crutch/The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Bill Hader (Barry) - Bill is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about The Cat in the Hat on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
- Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) and Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Sarah, Niecy, Kim Kardashian and Naomi Watts talk about All's Fair on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. Sarah will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Denise Richards (Blue Mountain State) - Denise talks about All's Fair on ABC's GMA3 at 1pm.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining the Drew's news desk to hit the headlines with Drew and Ross on The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts
Sitcoms Online Main Page
Contact Us