Saturday, March 30, 2013
Digital Digest: Possibilities for The New Dick Van Dyke Show on DVD?; The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies DVD Review
Happy Easter weekend, and welcome to Digital Digest! This week, we've got all of your regular features, and we get to see a reunion (of sorts) for the Clampetts in a review of The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
In the early 1970s, Dick Van Dyke returned to CBS in a new sitcom, The New Dick Van Dyke Show. The series starred Van Dyke as Dick Preston, a local TV talk show host in Arizona (and the series was actually filmed there as well). It ended up lasting three seasons, and has been occasionally shown in syndication since then. Now, there seems to be some hope (but nothing definite) on the DVD front for the series. A fan asked about the series on the Warner Archive Facebook page. The response from the studio was a bit positive:
"There are master-quality and clearance issues that need to be resolved, but the outlook is positive and a release likely at some point."
There has been one nice new addition to the lineup on the website Hulu. The service recently added ten episodes of the rare sitcom My Living Doll. While it is the same ten episodes already released on DVD, this gives a new audience a chance to watch this surprisingly excellent series.
Original series have slowly been becoming a part of online streaming video websites lately, and Crackle has been finding success with this as well. This week, Crackle announced a second season of their original thriller series, Chosen. The first season stars Ventimiglia as a husband, father and lawyer who awakens one morning to discover a mysterious box on his doorstep containing a loaded gun and a photo of a stranger he is instructed to kill within the next three days. Production of the second season will begin this summer.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (April 2) is not a big day for releases, but Shout! Factory does have one release, with Route 66 - The Complete Fourth Season.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (MPI, $14.98)
by skees53
I'm glad that MPI released this... seriously. But it would be outright dishonest for me to say that this was a good movie. In fact... and this is something that I rarely say... was an awful movie. Even in the introduction provided by Linda Kaye Henning, you could hear her admitting that the movie was a nice thought, but very poorly executed (her own father was a bit harsher three decades ago in criticizing his own product). This movie was plagued from the get-go. There was a writer's strike at the time which interfered with Paul Henning's ability to work with the script, Max Baer refused to take part in the movie, Imogene Coca was Granny's Maw (huh?), Werner Klemperer from Hogan's Heroes was (poorly) imitating Mr. Drysdale, and we didn't even get to see any interaction between any of the original members of Clampett family. This movie is an example of how everything can go wrong in a reunion movie of one of the greatest series of all time. But despite all of that, it is actually great to see this on DVD. I'd heard over the years how "awful" this movie was, but even so, I still wanted to see it for myself. Now, having seen it, I can fully disagree. But I still think that it complements the collection of any fan of The Beverly Hillbillies, which was one of the funniest sitcoms to ever air on TV, and as usual, MPI has put together an excellent DVD in spite of the flaws of the movie.
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Beverly Hillbillies on TV.com
In the early days of television, CBS was always the "king" of television. In 1962, The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on the network, and over the next few years, the series became one of the many series that defined CBS as the "rural" network. Despite that "rural" label, the series were much beloved and successful... until changes came in the early '70s. In the 1970-1971 season, CBS debuted The Mary Tyler Moore Show and All in the Family, and by the end of the season "everything with a tree" (as Pat Buttram of Green Acres once said) was cancelled. In 1981, though, CBS decided to bring back those Hillbillies for a bit of a reunion.
Of course, not all reunions can be perfect. The main cast of the series consisted of essentially six actors and actresses during the original run. By the time this movie came around, two of those cast members had died, one refused to participate, and one only minimally participated. In the end, Paul Henning (with his hands already tied by a writer's strike) ended up creating a movie focusing on Jed Clampett (Ebsen), Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp), and Jane Hathaway's new boss (Werner Klemperer).
No longer is Jane Hathaway the assistant at Beverly Hills Commerce Bank. She has moved up in the world... WAY up to the White House, where she now works for the government. Jed is no longer living in Beverly Hills (due to the budget being too low to afford to use the original mansion...), and has given all of his money to Jethro and Elly May, while he is back in the country. Granny (much like Irene Ryan) has passed away, but fear not, Granny's Maw (Imogene Coca) is now suddenly part of Jed Clampett's everyday life. The plot of the movie focuses on Jane Hathaway trying to get the recipe to Granny's moonshine due to the powers within it... specifically, the power to solve the country's energy crisis. The movie has a runtime of 1:35:59.
The DVD is packaged in a standard DVD case, with a cast photo on the cover (you'll notice that only three of the eight people pictured were original cast members). There are a few more photos on the back, along with a brief description of the movie and a list of special features. Inside, you'll find the disc, which has the same artwork as seen on the cover.
The main menu has the movie theme song playing in the background, along with options of Play, Play with Introduction, Special Features, and Episode Subtitles On/Off. Selecting Special Features brings up a menu where all of the special features are listed on one screen. Chapters are placed throughout the movie.
I really did expect the worst for the video and audio quality on this DVD, but actually it is pretty good. There is a little bit of grain in the picture, but the video quality is mostly pristine. There is a mono audio track that isn't extraordinary, but it certainly does the job. The movie contains English subtitles.
Of course, MPI is well known for their special features on their releases, and there are plenty of these on this DVD. Admittedly, though, most of these are "repeats" from MPI's previous releases of the series... but that isn't a huge deal. First, there is an introduction to the movie (11:01) where Linda Kaye Henning (daughter of Paul Henning) gives her introduction to the movie. "Paul Henning and the Hillbillies" (51:20) is a feature that talks about Paul Henning's life and the series, with interviews from those who knew him well (including Max Baer). Cast Commercials (10:05) gives a lot of cast commercials from the episodes of the first two seasons... but fans will notice that they only included the Kellogg's commercials here (none of the Winston Cigarette ones). Promo Spots (3:22) is a series of CBS commercials for the series, all of which are from the later seasons of the series (indicated by the promos pointing out that the series is in color). Finally, we have Elly's Critters Promotional Trailer (3:41). After watching this a few times, I'm still not quite sure what this is, but it seems to be some sort of pitch by Paul Henning (he narrates) to have Donna Douglas do a tour where she shows children different animals in nature.
Of course, not all reunions can be perfect. The main cast of the series consisted of essentially six actors and actresses during the original run. By the time this movie came around, two of those cast members had died, one refused to participate, and one only minimally participated. In the end, Paul Henning (with his hands already tied by a writer's strike) ended up creating a movie focusing on Jed Clampett (Ebsen), Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp), and Jane Hathaway's new boss (Werner Klemperer).
No longer is Jane Hathaway the assistant at Beverly Hills Commerce Bank. She has moved up in the world... WAY up to the White House, where she now works for the government. Jed is no longer living in Beverly Hills (due to the budget being too low to afford to use the original mansion...), and has given all of his money to Jethro and Elly May, while he is back in the country. Granny (much like Irene Ryan) has passed away, but fear not, Granny's Maw (Imogene Coca) is now suddenly part of Jed Clampett's everyday life. The plot of the movie focuses on Jane Hathaway trying to get the recipe to Granny's moonshine due to the powers within it... specifically, the power to solve the country's energy crisis. The movie has a runtime of 1:35:59.
The DVD is packaged in a standard DVD case, with a cast photo on the cover (you'll notice that only three of the eight people pictured were original cast members). There are a few more photos on the back, along with a brief description of the movie and a list of special features. Inside, you'll find the disc, which has the same artwork as seen on the cover.
The main menu has the movie theme song playing in the background, along with options of Play, Play with Introduction, Special Features, and Episode Subtitles On/Off. Selecting Special Features brings up a menu where all of the special features are listed on one screen. Chapters are placed throughout the movie.
I really did expect the worst for the video and audio quality on this DVD, but actually it is pretty good. There is a little bit of grain in the picture, but the video quality is mostly pristine. There is a mono audio track that isn't extraordinary, but it certainly does the job. The movie contains English subtitles.
Of course, MPI is well known for their special features on their releases, and there are plenty of these on this DVD. Admittedly, though, most of these are "repeats" from MPI's previous releases of the series... but that isn't a huge deal. First, there is an introduction to the movie (11:01) where Linda Kaye Henning (daughter of Paul Henning) gives her introduction to the movie. "Paul Henning and the Hillbillies" (51:20) is a feature that talks about Paul Henning's life and the series, with interviews from those who knew him well (including Max Baer). Cast Commercials (10:05) gives a lot of cast commercials from the episodes of the first two seasons... but fans will notice that they only included the Kellogg's commercials here (none of the Winston Cigarette ones). Promo Spots (3:22) is a series of CBS commercials for the series, all of which are from the later seasons of the series (indicated by the promos pointing out that the series is in color). Finally, we have Elly's Critters Promotional Trailer (3:41). After watching this a few times, I'm still not quite sure what this is, but it seems to be some sort of pitch by Paul Henning (he narrates) to have Donna Douglas do a tour where she shows children different animals in nature.
I'm glad that MPI released this... seriously. But it would be outright dishonest for me to say that this was a good movie. In fact... and this is something that I rarely say... was an awful movie. Even in the introduction provided by Linda Kaye Henning, you could hear her admitting that the movie was a nice thought, but very poorly executed (her own father was a bit harsher three decades ago in criticizing his own product). This movie was plagued from the get-go. There was a writer's strike at the time which interfered with Paul Henning's ability to work with the script, Max Baer refused to take part in the movie, Imogene Coca was Granny's Maw (huh?), Werner Klemperer from Hogan's Heroes was (poorly) imitating Mr. Drysdale, and we didn't even get to see any interaction between any of the original members of Clampett family. This movie is an example of how everything can go wrong in a reunion movie of one of the greatest series of all time. But despite all of that, it is actually great to see this on DVD. I'd heard over the years how "awful" this movie was, but even so, I still wanted to see it for myself. Now, having seen it, I can fully disagree. But I still think that it complements the collection of any fan of The Beverly Hillbillies, which was one of the funniest sitcoms to ever air on TV, and as usual, MPI has put together an excellent DVD in spite of the flaws of the movie.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Ed Asner (Twitter), "The official Ed Asner Twitter account. Actor, activist, warm, lovable, gruff, lefty, patriot are just a few of the words that would best describe me. "
Claim to Fame: Ed Asner has been acting almost as long as some of the other legends of TV... but the early days were on stage. After a few TV roles in the '60s, Asner became even better known in 1970 when he was cast in the role of Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Eventually, he even got his own spinoff, and in total, managed to score five Emmy Awards playing the role of Lou Grant. He later became president of the Screen Actors Guild, and still has plenty of desire to act left in him, including a recent role on Hawaii Five-0 where he played the same role that he played on the original version of the series, Hawaii Five-0.
Why You Should Follow Him: Ed Asner is one of the greatest actors in TV history, and that alone is enough of a reason to follow him. But that isn't the only reason that you should follow him. Although he can be a bit controversial at times (in fact, he still claims that his political views are what caused CBS to cancel Lou Grant), he still has a lot to say on Twitter (especially since he doesn't have his own website... "wouldn't know what to do with one," he says), and is dedicated to his fans.
Pick of the Tweets: "Listening to Adele. Love her but can only take one or two songs at a time." (December 24, 2011)
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Friday, March 29, 2013
FX to Launch FXX, New Spin-off Network, with Reruns of Parks and Rec and More; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 1, 2013)
On Monday, September 2, FX Networks will launch FXX, a new network aimed at young adult viewers. With the addition of FXX, FX Networks will become a suite of three networks consisting of FX, FXX and FXM (formerly know as Fox Movie Channel). FXX will be available in 74 million homes in year one, making it one of the most widely distributed entertainment networks ever for an ad-supported cable network in its inaugural year. FXX initially will be built on a foundation of original comedy series, movies and acquired series, and expand to include original drama series, all primarily designed to attract young adults 18-34. Before we get into FXX, we'll talk about what this means for FX and FXM. FX, the flagship of FX Networks, will continue to offer award-winning original comedy and drama series, movies and acquired series targeted to Adults 18-49. FX will increase the number of drama series and begin offering limited series and miniseries. FXM will continue to be home to prestige movies, and related short-form original programming - as its universe grows, it will begin to televise its own limited series and miniseries.
FXX will be anchored by the hit original series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, two of the finest comedies on television and two of the highest-rated among Adults 18-24. These series, along with the series Legit, will move from FX to FXX with the launch of the network this fall. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's ninth season will air on FXX this fall, and the network has also placed an order for a tenth season that will air in the fall of 2014. The League's already announced fifth season will now air on FXX this fall, and the network is announcing a sixth season pickup that will air on FXX in the fall of 2014. The new critically-acclaimed comedy Legit's first season will end on FX Thursday, April 11 at 10:30PM ET/PT. The show has officially been picked up for a second season, and will be moving to FXX, returning in early 2014. In addition, late night comedy series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, will go from from weekly to a five-night a week late night strip beginning this Fall with the launch of FXX. Totally Biased will debut its new format this fall with the launch of FXX with 130 new original episodes, airing Monday-Thursday at 11:00 PM ET/PT, with Best of the Week compilation episodes Sunday nights at 11:00 PM ET/PT. Until then, new episodes of Totally Biased in its currently weekly iteration will resume on FX on Thursday, May 9 at 11:00pm ET/PT. One pick-up that was announced by FX Networks today will remain on FX. The critically-acclaimed drama series Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant, will continue to run on FX. Season five begins production this fall and will air on FX in January 2014. Season four is currently airing, with the season finale slated to air next Tuesday, April 2, at 10:00 PM ET/PT.
As far as acquisitions, FXX will bulk up on younger skewing comedy series and dramas. They have gotten off-network rerun rights to a number of sitcoms and dramas. They'll air reruns of How I Met Your Mother, which currently air on FX, but there's more! Other series that have been announced so far are Parks and Recreation, Rescue Me, Arrested Development, Sports Night and Freaks & Geeks. FXX will also feature blockbuster movies in all dayparts. As for FX, they also will televise blockbuster movies in all dayparts, with a library unmatched by any basic cable network. The FX schedule will also include the acquired series Anger Management, Two and a Half Men and, coming in 2014, Mike & Molly. Presumably, How I Met Your Mother will be moving to FXX, but there is chance it will air on both FX and FXX. We hope to have more news on the acquisitions for both FX and FXX, including if there are more and what the schedule will be, but that won't be until this summer when we get into our annual fall schedules barrage! As far as development, FX will be bulking up on that and have a lot of series in the works. FX has ordered its first limited series, Fargo, from MGM Television. The series is adapted by novelist/writer Noah Hawley from the award-winning film of the same title and will run for 10 episodes in Spring 2014. And there are many other limited series, dramas, and comedy pilots in the works, so FX will still be very much in the original game even when some of the originals will move to FXX. Stay with us for continued updates!
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, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of April 1-5, 2013, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!
Monday, April 1, 2013
- Matthew Perry (Go On/Mr. Sunshine/Friends) - Watch Matthew on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Shia LaBeouf (Even Stevens) - Shia appears on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Kristen Schaal (Bob's Burgers/30 Rock) - Kristen is a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Alec visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Justin Bartha (The New Normal) - Justin drops by Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
- Seth Green (Greg the Bunny/Four Kings) - Seth chats on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Anthony Anderson (Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Regina King (227) - Co-host Clinton Kelly teams with Regina to create cowboy rice and fried eggs on a repeat of The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
- Tracy Morgan (30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Catch Tracy on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Lena Dunham (Girls) - Lena appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Busy Philipps (Cougar Town) - Busy is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Joel McHale (Community) - Joel appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Betty is a guest on a repeat of Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Louis C.K. (Louie) - Watch Louis on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Max Greenfield (New Girl) - Max visits The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Lisa Kudrow (Friends/The Comeback) - Lisa appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah is a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- T.J. Miller (Carpoolers) - T.J. is part of the guest panel on a special one-hour episode of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory) - Jeremy stops by LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey chats on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Jennie Garth (What I Like About You) - Jennie is a guest on a repeat of The Jeff Probst Show, so check your local listings.
- Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show/Tyler Perry's House of Payne) - Keshia appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Beth Grant (The Mindy Project) - Beth talks about her southern roots, the challenges she faced becoming an actress and her daughter who also wishes to be an actor just like her parents on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Sarah Chalke (How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life/Scrubs/Roseanne) - Sarah chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life premieres on ABC on April 3 at 9:30pm ET-PT.
- Terry Crews (Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Watch Terry on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Molly Shannon (Kath & Kim) - Molly is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) - Tune in to see Melissa on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Shia LaBeouf (Even Stevens) - Shia continues to make the rounds on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D.L. and dance partner Cheryl Burke visit The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) - Aziz chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Catch Chelsea on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. She will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- Joel McHale (Community) - Joel is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Jessica Walter (Retired at 35/Arrested Development) - Jessica visits Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Seven Questions with Nicole Eggert of Splash; Episodic Reviews: Raising Hope - "Burt Mitzvah - The Musical" and "Mother's Day" Airing Tonight on Fox
Ready, Set, Splash! Today we have a very special "Seven Questions" interview with the gorgeous actress Nicole Eggert! She is of course is best known to sitcom fans as Jamie Powell on the popular Scott Baio sitcom Charles in Charge. She then went on of course to do Baywatch where she starred opposite David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson in that famous red swimsuit. Nicole's had a solid career so far with lots of TV and film roles and now she is on an ABC competition show called Splash, where she dives off a high-board into a pool against other celebrities. Splash airs Tuesdays at 8|7c on ABC. We talked to her on Tuesday just hours before her first dive aired on Splash, which was episode two. We found out about why she joined the series, what went through her mind in a horrific pre-dive warm-up, her battle with her post pregnancy weight and why it's taken her longer to lose that weight. And of course we asked her about her past work such as Charles in Charge, Baywatch, and even her very early roles on Who's the Boss? and T.J. Hooker. We also delved deeper into her career and life and we got some insight of how she started acting, what she plans to do next after Splash, and other very interesting tidbits! So let's get right to another installment of "Seven Questions!"
"Seven Questions with Nicole Eggert From ABC's Splash"
SitcomsOnline: It's so great to finally interview you! We've been a big fan of yours since your sitcom days on Charles in Charge and your recurring role on Who's the Boss? But first let's begin talking about your current venture, Splash. The series premiered last week with a big splash in the ratings and your first dive is airing tonight (Tuesday, March 26). What made you decide to join this series and were you ever reluctant in signing on? Did you know any of the celebrities previously?
Nicole Eggert: I had met Kendra once before but that was it, I didn't know anybody else. And I decided to do it because it was sort of like humping on my bucket list and it was something like I always kind of admired and wish I could do. And so with this opportunity with professional trainers like this, it just seemed like a great opportunity.
SitcomsOnline: So the training pool that all the Splash stars are training in is the same pool you trained on for Baywatch. How is it like going back to that pool after nearly 20 years and how has training for Splash been going you think? Also, a video preview of one of your pre-dive warm-ups before your first dive was posted online and we saw a scary incident. Anything you can share with us from that experience? All I'll say was, man you're so brave and courageous!
Nicole Eggert: Well, training has been going good, there's really good days and there's bad days (laughs). Some days I am excited to go and other days I'm panicking and dragging myself there. But it's neat to be there at that pool because you know on Baywatch we did a lot of shooting in that pool and also my character on Baywatch was a high diver. So we would do a lot of high diving stuff there and you know of course they would just shoot me up on the platform and then shoot me coming out of the pool and then there was you know a professional diver that did you know all the hard work. And all the diving in between, so it's just kind of funny in full circle to be there and now being the one that has to go off those platforms because in those days I would look down and say 'I would never do that,' you know, I wouldn't even jump off of there, so it's pretty ironic. As for the scary incident, thank you...you know what it really scared me but it was a lot scarier than it did hurt, you know it didn't hurt me physically as much as it just scared me and I mean I don't know how I guess I expect to do a show like this and these things not happen...and my oldest daughter was there and she saw me fall and you know I know it scared her and I just wanted to not only for myself but for her to get back up and face that fear again and when you don't succeed you just get up and do it again. And that's what I had to do (laughs).
SitcomsOnline: You know the paparazzi and some media outlets can be so mean for no reason, but little do they know that your post-pregnancy weight was because of a result of some health problems. Can you share with us what these health problems are and how everything is going now? You sure do look amazing now!
Nicole Eggert: Oh thank you so much! I still have my last 10 pounds to go and I think it's kind of been on hold because of the show, it's really hard to have a rigorous workout schedule on top of this training, so I've kind of been staying steady. I have hyper thyroid and I had adrenal exhaustion. I kind of suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and when that happened I knocked a lot of my chemical balances off, like my body just wasn't chemically balanced properly and it never repaired itself and then I got pregnant, especially at 39 years old getting pregnant. Then my body, we all know a woman's chemistry goes crazy when they're pregnant, after the birth my body could never balance back out and it was really all out of whack. I wasn't producing any of the proper good hormones, I was only producing bad hormones and some things that cause swelling and I just had a whole handful of imbalances, so I take a lot of medications, I take a lot of hormones for thyroid, I take a lot vitamins and supplements. I take probably 25 things and I have to give myself two shots every day. I'm feeling a lot better, diet and exercise at that point was able to work and be effective, which started to feel good. I'll always have it a little bit harder than your average person to lose the weight just because my body you know it kind of fights itself. The medicine is helping a lot and I'm feeling a lot better and at least I have answers now. It makes me feel a lot better.
SitcomsOnline: Let's take a step back to reflect on your past work. I loved Charles in Charge and watched it every day. It certainly made you a big star and all the teenage guys watching were going crazy for you, I think. It was such a fun show with a great ensemble. Can you share with us how you got the role of Jamie Powell and share some experiences from that show? A reunion would be so cool, I think.
Nicole Eggert: Aw, thank you. I auditioned for it and Al Burton was the executive producer over at Universal and I had auditioned for him for other shows and I don't know they cast me and I was so excited, very very excited. I was doing Who's the Boss? at the time recurring and that was making me want to have my own show, to be a regular on a sitcom, so I was really really excited to be cast in that. The day I started on Charles in Charge was the day I was supposed to start high school (laughs), so it was all kind of monumental and I wasn't really looking forward going to public high school. I wanted to be working and my wish came true, and all my friends started high school and I started work (laughs). It was the best years. I think a reunion would be amazing. I'm not sure if all of the cast members are still alive. I heard that James T. Callahan had died and tried to contact him. So sad.
SitcomsOnline: And even more of step back, you just mentioned Who's the Boss, you were great on that series as Alyssa Milano's best friend during the first few seasons and as William Shatner's daughter on T.J. Hooker. When did you decide you wanted to get into acting and what was it like working with stars like William Shatner, Heather Locklear, Tony Danza, and Alyssa Milano early on in your career?
Nicole Eggert: All of them were amazing and great people to work with and you know I was very very young and I didn't really know who they were, I just knew them as people that I met and was working with, you know I didn't know them as such major celebrities. They were all so warm and welcoming and I learned so much from everybody. Everybody was just so kind and so much fun and I learned a lot on those two shows to lead-up to be able to handle doing Charles in Charge. As for getting into acting, oddly enough because this is so out of my character, when I was about four years old I did a beauty pageant and it was Miss Universe for kids and I won Miss Universe, so it was televised and after that casting directors started calling booking me for commercials, I did a movie of the week with Cheryl Ladd & Robert Urich. And from that I started getting calls to do commercials and my first commercial that I did was Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo and Coppertone, and I just had so much fun. My parents are European and I think they were open to let me try to have a different life than what they had and different opportunities than what they were given and we thought we'll try this to see you know how this goes and it was a blast and I've been on this journey ever since.
SitcomsOnline: After Charles in Charge, a few years later you of course went into the mega hit show Baywatch during its third season. We can't have an interview without mentioning that show since it's a game changer. This show changed your life even more. What was the decision on going from sitcoms to Baywatch, where you were surrounded by stars like Pamela Anderson?
Nicole Eggert: Well you know Pamela wasn't a big star yet and I had already knew her, she dated Scott (Baio) and she appeared on Charles in Charge so I had known her. So it was fun that I was going to know somebody on set. We started the show together, it was our first season so we were all kind of in it together and David Charvet I knew, I grew up with him, so it was kind of neat to be on a show where you already knew two people. And the producer from Charles in Charge, Al Burton, was producing what was supposed to be a spin-off of Baywatch and that's when I got involved. I was never really supposed to be on Baywatch as a lifeguard, they tried to do a high school spin-off like a beach high school thing and that was the true intention of bringing me onto the show. And I think the new cast, the dynamic was working so well for Baywatch, they didn't want to split it up and they kind of let go of the idea of the spin-off. So I stayed there and it was okay, I don't think it did a lot for my career, you know, I immediately got pigeon holed as to like a bimbo and all that kind of stuff. As far as getting good roles after that, it made my life a little bit harder, but it is what it is. A lot of people obviously liked it, because it was successful, but it was just harder to be taken seriously in the industry after that show.
SitcomsOnline: We've been following your career and besides the stuff I already mentioned, I have to say I loved watching your guest appearances on Married... with Children, Boy Meets World, and in the movies What Lies Above, Wall of Secrets, Holiday Switch, Blown Away and Amanda & the Alien. I don't think using paprika has ever been the same since Amanda & the Alien, ha! So, what projects are coming up next for you that you can share with us...perhaps a sitcom? Would you consider doing Dancing with the Stars now that you have experienced Splash? Thanks for spending some time with us despite your busy training/taping schedule for Splash! We're rooting for you on Splash!
Nicole Eggert: I don't know, that would be my dream to be on a sitcom or a filmed show of any kind really, that would be my dream, you know this (Splash) just came up right as when I started getting healthy and getting better. I haven't been feeling so great that long and this (Splash) is so consuming, so I think we'll start looking at what's next pretty shortly, I just haven't had an opportunity yet and I know the phone is ringing, and there's things but I haven't been able to seriously look at anything yet. Well, now that I have experienced this (Splash), yes I would consider Dancing with the Stars because now that doesn't seem as scary. Now that seems like a piece of cake (laughs). Thank you! I appreciate it and I appreciate all the support. Thank you so much!
We definitely appreciate Nicole for taking the time to give us an interview despite the busy schedule! She is so very nice and beautiful inside and out and we hope nothing but success for her on Splash and in future projects! That'll do it for this installment of "Seven Questions," stay tuned next time for another brand new interview! But first, don't forget to check out Nicole Eggert all over the web and social media. Follow her everywhere!
On the next...Raising Hope:
By: Todd
Fox's Tuesday sitcom starring Martha Plimpton airs on a special night and time tonight after Idol and we have just watched two-episode finale that airs tonight (Mar. 28) at 9:00pm & 9:30pm. In the first of the two-episode finale airing tonight, "Burt Mitzvah - The Musical," Burt's (Garret Dillahunt) parents (guest stars Shirley Jones and Lee Majors) come to town with the surprising news that he is actually Jewish. So, Burt takes a musical crash-course in his newfound heritage to prepare for the Bar Mitzvah he never had. In the second episode airing tonight, "Mother's Day," it's a holiday to remember as Burt and Barney (Gregg Binkley) road trip to Maw Maw's (Cloris Leachman) childhood home and learn that her mother may still be alive.
In "Burt Mitzvah - The Musical," Burt gets musical (and kosher) in the first of two episodes. Burt and Virginia bring back a ham in Hope's car set for an Easter dinner. Burt's parents, Christine and Ralph, arrive at the house. They have some big news to announce. Christine discovers that she is Jewish after attending a Bar Mitzvah and talking to a genealogist about her cousin. She suggests that Burt embrace his new heritage and have a Bar Mitzvah. Burt and Jimmy then go to a kosher deli to pick up some food and get information on the religion. Everybody at the deli, including the bagels, then break out in a song and dance number about Judaism. Burt tells his parents that he wants to be bar mitzvahed. Christine is pleased that he is finally going to become a man after forty years. Burt then joins a class to study and prepare. Later, the ladies go to Howdy's Market to shop for the Seder dinner. It's then time for another song and dance number as Barney and the entire store participates. Burt is struggling to learn everything and wants to quit, but Jimmy tries to talk him out of it. A final musical number and elaborate video is then shown. After Burt sees Ralph stealing money from his one of his cards, he learns a shocking secret.
In "Mother's Day," Burt and Barney take a road trip to Hagerstown and are surprised to see that Maw Maw's mother is still alive. Burt and Virginia show Maw Maw some old records and recipes in order to try and jog some of her memories. They look for some pictures of her mother to help her remember her. Jimmy gives Virginia a necklace that Hope made, but it turns out that was for Sabrina. Burt goes to Howdy's Market to stock up on some food for a road trip to Hagerstown to take some photos of the house that Maw Maw grew up in. Barney offers to help and keep him company. They are surprised to learn that Norma Jean Mayfair is still alive at the house when she takes a shotgun out and points it at them. Virginia, Jimmy and Sabrina prepare dinner and talk about Hope's life, which Sabrina wasn't part of at the beginning. Burt and Barney pretend to be angels in order to get Norma Jean to come out of the house. The family meets their 104-year-old great grandmother. Maw Maw and Norma Jean then fight. An old time black and white film is played. They haven't spoke in over seventy years because of a disagreement over twenty-five cents. Jimmy then gives Sabrina the necklace in the box. Barney discovers that something has happened to Norma Jean in the bathroom. The episode wraps up with Sabrina giving Virginia a gift and having a heartfelt talk.
Raising Hope wraps up its third season with a pair of episodes tonight. The first episode is clearly the funnier and more entertaining of the two. Shirley Jones and Lee Majors make their second guest appearances tonight. They first appeared in a memorable Thanksgiving episode in the second season. Tonight they visit to celebrate Easter. It's a very fun episode. Jones and Majors are wonderful here. It's too bad this was their only appearance of the season. The main highlights in this episode are the three musical numbers. These are very well-choreographed and even educational song and dance numbers. The second episode airing is a bit of a letdown. It just doesn't have the feeling of a season finale. There's no cliffhanger or series-changing moment. It feels like a regular stand-a-lone episode. There are a few funny moments, such as the fight between Maw Maw and Norma Jean and the old time film. Virginia and Sabrina also have some sweet scenes, as they try to settle some of their issues. It ends with a nice song montage. Even though the show has struggled in the ratings this season, thankfully it has already been renewed for a fourth season. They should receive a nice boost in viewers tonight airing after American Idol. I look forward to seeing more crazy antics from the Chance family in the fall. 1st episode: B+, 2nd episode: C+
"Seven Questions with Nicole Eggert From ABC's Splash"
SitcomsOnline: It's so great to finally interview you! We've been a big fan of yours since your sitcom days on Charles in Charge and your recurring role on Who's the Boss? But first let's begin talking about your current venture, Splash. The series premiered last week with a big splash in the ratings and your first dive is airing tonight (Tuesday, March 26). What made you decide to join this series and were you ever reluctant in signing on? Did you know any of the celebrities previously?
Nicole Eggert: I had met Kendra once before but that was it, I didn't know anybody else. And I decided to do it because it was sort of like humping on my bucket list and it was something like I always kind of admired and wish I could do. And so with this opportunity with professional trainers like this, it just seemed like a great opportunity.
SitcomsOnline: So the training pool that all the Splash stars are training in is the same pool you trained on for Baywatch. How is it like going back to that pool after nearly 20 years and how has training for Splash been going you think? Also, a video preview of one of your pre-dive warm-ups before your first dive was posted online and we saw a scary incident. Anything you can share with us from that experience? All I'll say was, man you're so brave and courageous!
Nicole Eggert: Well, training has been going good, there's really good days and there's bad days (laughs). Some days I am excited to go and other days I'm panicking and dragging myself there. But it's neat to be there at that pool because you know on Baywatch we did a lot of shooting in that pool and also my character on Baywatch was a high diver. So we would do a lot of high diving stuff there and you know of course they would just shoot me up on the platform and then shoot me coming out of the pool and then there was you know a professional diver that did you know all the hard work. And all the diving in between, so it's just kind of funny in full circle to be there and now being the one that has to go off those platforms because in those days I would look down and say 'I would never do that,' you know, I wouldn't even jump off of there, so it's pretty ironic. As for the scary incident, thank you...you know what it really scared me but it was a lot scarier than it did hurt, you know it didn't hurt me physically as much as it just scared me and I mean I don't know how I guess I expect to do a show like this and these things not happen...and my oldest daughter was there and she saw me fall and you know I know it scared her and I just wanted to not only for myself but for her to get back up and face that fear again and when you don't succeed you just get up and do it again. And that's what I had to do (laughs).
SitcomsOnline: You know the paparazzi and some media outlets can be so mean for no reason, but little do they know that your post-pregnancy weight was because of a result of some health problems. Can you share with us what these health problems are and how everything is going now? You sure do look amazing now!
Nicole Eggert: Oh thank you so much! I still have my last 10 pounds to go and I think it's kind of been on hold because of the show, it's really hard to have a rigorous workout schedule on top of this training, so I've kind of been staying steady. I have hyper thyroid and I had adrenal exhaustion. I kind of suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and when that happened I knocked a lot of my chemical balances off, like my body just wasn't chemically balanced properly and it never repaired itself and then I got pregnant, especially at 39 years old getting pregnant. Then my body, we all know a woman's chemistry goes crazy when they're pregnant, after the birth my body could never balance back out and it was really all out of whack. I wasn't producing any of the proper good hormones, I was only producing bad hormones and some things that cause swelling and I just had a whole handful of imbalances, so I take a lot of medications, I take a lot of hormones for thyroid, I take a lot vitamins and supplements. I take probably 25 things and I have to give myself two shots every day. I'm feeling a lot better, diet and exercise at that point was able to work and be effective, which started to feel good. I'll always have it a little bit harder than your average person to lose the weight just because my body you know it kind of fights itself. The medicine is helping a lot and I'm feeling a lot better and at least I have answers now. It makes me feel a lot better.
SitcomsOnline: Let's take a step back to reflect on your past work. I loved Charles in Charge and watched it every day. It certainly made you a big star and all the teenage guys watching were going crazy for you, I think. It was such a fun show with a great ensemble. Can you share with us how you got the role of Jamie Powell and share some experiences from that show? A reunion would be so cool, I think.
Nicole Eggert: Aw, thank you. I auditioned for it and Al Burton was the executive producer over at Universal and I had auditioned for him for other shows and I don't know they cast me and I was so excited, very very excited. I was doing Who's the Boss? at the time recurring and that was making me want to have my own show, to be a regular on a sitcom, so I was really really excited to be cast in that. The day I started on Charles in Charge was the day I was supposed to start high school (laughs), so it was all kind of monumental and I wasn't really looking forward going to public high school. I wanted to be working and my wish came true, and all my friends started high school and I started work (laughs). It was the best years. I think a reunion would be amazing. I'm not sure if all of the cast members are still alive. I heard that James T. Callahan had died and tried to contact him. So sad.
SitcomsOnline: And even more of step back, you just mentioned Who's the Boss, you were great on that series as Alyssa Milano's best friend during the first few seasons and as William Shatner's daughter on T.J. Hooker. When did you decide you wanted to get into acting and what was it like working with stars like William Shatner, Heather Locklear, Tony Danza, and Alyssa Milano early on in your career?
Nicole Eggert: All of them were amazing and great people to work with and you know I was very very young and I didn't really know who they were, I just knew them as people that I met and was working with, you know I didn't know them as such major celebrities. They were all so warm and welcoming and I learned so much from everybody. Everybody was just so kind and so much fun and I learned a lot on those two shows to lead-up to be able to handle doing Charles in Charge. As for getting into acting, oddly enough because this is so out of my character, when I was about four years old I did a beauty pageant and it was Miss Universe for kids and I won Miss Universe, so it was televised and after that casting directors started calling booking me for commercials, I did a movie of the week with Cheryl Ladd & Robert Urich. And from that I started getting calls to do commercials and my first commercial that I did was Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo and Coppertone, and I just had so much fun. My parents are European and I think they were open to let me try to have a different life than what they had and different opportunities than what they were given and we thought we'll try this to see you know how this goes and it was a blast and I've been on this journey ever since.
SitcomsOnline: After Charles in Charge, a few years later you of course went into the mega hit show Baywatch during its third season. We can't have an interview without mentioning that show since it's a game changer. This show changed your life even more. What was the decision on going from sitcoms to Baywatch, where you were surrounded by stars like Pamela Anderson?
Nicole Eggert: Well you know Pamela wasn't a big star yet and I had already knew her, she dated Scott (Baio) and she appeared on Charles in Charge so I had known her. So it was fun that I was going to know somebody on set. We started the show together, it was our first season so we were all kind of in it together and David Charvet I knew, I grew up with him, so it was kind of neat to be on a show where you already knew two people. And the producer from Charles in Charge, Al Burton, was producing what was supposed to be a spin-off of Baywatch and that's when I got involved. I was never really supposed to be on Baywatch as a lifeguard, they tried to do a high school spin-off like a beach high school thing and that was the true intention of bringing me onto the show. And I think the new cast, the dynamic was working so well for Baywatch, they didn't want to split it up and they kind of let go of the idea of the spin-off. So I stayed there and it was okay, I don't think it did a lot for my career, you know, I immediately got pigeon holed as to like a bimbo and all that kind of stuff. As far as getting good roles after that, it made my life a little bit harder, but it is what it is. A lot of people obviously liked it, because it was successful, but it was just harder to be taken seriously in the industry after that show.
SitcomsOnline: We've been following your career and besides the stuff I already mentioned, I have to say I loved watching your guest appearances on Married... with Children, Boy Meets World, and in the movies What Lies Above, Wall of Secrets, Holiday Switch, Blown Away and Amanda & the Alien. I don't think using paprika has ever been the same since Amanda & the Alien, ha! So, what projects are coming up next for you that you can share with us...perhaps a sitcom? Would you consider doing Dancing with the Stars now that you have experienced Splash? Thanks for spending some time with us despite your busy training/taping schedule for Splash! We're rooting for you on Splash!
Nicole Eggert: I don't know, that would be my dream to be on a sitcom or a filmed show of any kind really, that would be my dream, you know this (Splash) just came up right as when I started getting healthy and getting better. I haven't been feeling so great that long and this (Splash) is so consuming, so I think we'll start looking at what's next pretty shortly, I just haven't had an opportunity yet and I know the phone is ringing, and there's things but I haven't been able to seriously look at anything yet. Well, now that I have experienced this (Splash), yes I would consider Dancing with the Stars because now that doesn't seem as scary. Now that seems like a piece of cake (laughs). Thank you! I appreciate it and I appreciate all the support. Thank you so much!
We definitely appreciate Nicole for taking the time to give us an interview despite the busy schedule! She is so very nice and beautiful inside and out and we hope nothing but success for her on Splash and in future projects! That'll do it for this installment of "Seven Questions," stay tuned next time for another brand new interview! But first, don't forget to check out Nicole Eggert all over the web and social media. Follow her everywhere!
- Nicole Eggert Official Website
- Nicole Eggert on Twitter
- Nicole Eggert on Facebook
- Nicole Eggert on Instagram
- Nicole Eggert on Splash
On the next...Raising Hope:
By: Todd
Fox's Tuesday sitcom starring Martha Plimpton airs on a special night and time tonight after Idol and we have just watched two-episode finale that airs tonight (Mar. 28) at 9:00pm & 9:30pm. In the first of the two-episode finale airing tonight, "Burt Mitzvah - The Musical," Burt's (Garret Dillahunt) parents (guest stars Shirley Jones and Lee Majors) come to town with the surprising news that he is actually Jewish. So, Burt takes a musical crash-course in his newfound heritage to prepare for the Bar Mitzvah he never had. In the second episode airing tonight, "Mother's Day," it's a holiday to remember as Burt and Barney (Gregg Binkley) road trip to Maw Maw's (Cloris Leachman) childhood home and learn that her mother may still be alive.
In "Burt Mitzvah - The Musical," Burt gets musical (and kosher) in the first of two episodes. Burt and Virginia bring back a ham in Hope's car set for an Easter dinner. Burt's parents, Christine and Ralph, arrive at the house. They have some big news to announce. Christine discovers that she is Jewish after attending a Bar Mitzvah and talking to a genealogist about her cousin. She suggests that Burt embrace his new heritage and have a Bar Mitzvah. Burt and Jimmy then go to a kosher deli to pick up some food and get information on the religion. Everybody at the deli, including the bagels, then break out in a song and dance number about Judaism. Burt tells his parents that he wants to be bar mitzvahed. Christine is pleased that he is finally going to become a man after forty years. Burt then joins a class to study and prepare. Later, the ladies go to Howdy's Market to shop for the Seder dinner. It's then time for another song and dance number as Barney and the entire store participates. Burt is struggling to learn everything and wants to quit, but Jimmy tries to talk him out of it. A final musical number and elaborate video is then shown. After Burt sees Ralph stealing money from his one of his cards, he learns a shocking secret.
In "Mother's Day," Burt and Barney take a road trip to Hagerstown and are surprised to see that Maw Maw's mother is still alive. Burt and Virginia show Maw Maw some old records and recipes in order to try and jog some of her memories. They look for some pictures of her mother to help her remember her. Jimmy gives Virginia a necklace that Hope made, but it turns out that was for Sabrina. Burt goes to Howdy's Market to stock up on some food for a road trip to Hagerstown to take some photos of the house that Maw Maw grew up in. Barney offers to help and keep him company. They are surprised to learn that Norma Jean Mayfair is still alive at the house when she takes a shotgun out and points it at them. Virginia, Jimmy and Sabrina prepare dinner and talk about Hope's life, which Sabrina wasn't part of at the beginning. Burt and Barney pretend to be angels in order to get Norma Jean to come out of the house. The family meets their 104-year-old great grandmother. Maw Maw and Norma Jean then fight. An old time black and white film is played. They haven't spoke in over seventy years because of a disagreement over twenty-five cents. Jimmy then gives Sabrina the necklace in the box. Barney discovers that something has happened to Norma Jean in the bathroom. The episode wraps up with Sabrina giving Virginia a gift and having a heartfelt talk.
Raising Hope wraps up its third season with a pair of episodes tonight. The first episode is clearly the funnier and more entertaining of the two. Shirley Jones and Lee Majors make their second guest appearances tonight. They first appeared in a memorable Thanksgiving episode in the second season. Tonight they visit to celebrate Easter. It's a very fun episode. Jones and Majors are wonderful here. It's too bad this was their only appearance of the season. The main highlights in this episode are the three musical numbers. These are very well-choreographed and even educational song and dance numbers. The second episode airing is a bit of a letdown. It just doesn't have the feeling of a season finale. There's no cliffhanger or series-changing moment. It feels like a regular stand-a-lone episode. There are a few funny moments, such as the fight between Maw Maw and Norma Jean and the old time film. Virginia and Sabrina also have some sweet scenes, as they try to settle some of their issues. It ends with a nice song montage. Even though the show has struggled in the ratings this season, thankfully it has already been renewed for a fourth season. They should receive a nice boost in viewers tonight airing after American Idol. I look forward to seeing more crazy antics from the Chance family in the fall. 1st episode: B+, 2nd episode: C+
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
TV One Acquires Gimme a Break for May 2013, Stunts in April on Fridays; TBS Picks Up Cougar Town for Season 5
Gimme a Break! The hit '80s sitcom, Gimme a Break! is coming to TV One! Hot off of their acquisition of What's Happening!! in March, TV One will add Gimme a Break! to its schedule beginning Friday, May 3, 2013. The sitcom will join the Friday night comedy block featuring classic sitcoms. The series has not regularly aired on cable in about 15 or so years when USA Network aired it weekday mornings. The series has aired in a couple of markets in local syndication in recent years, but that's it. We last saw the sitcom on cable back in 2006 when TV One aired a special day marathon in celebration of the series' first season coming to DVD. However, it was just a stunt marathon and this will be a regular addition! TV One will air Gimme a Break! Fridays from 8-9pm and also 11pm-12am beginning Friday, May 3. It will kick-off the new Friday night comedy block line-up. Sanford & Son will return to the TV One line-up and air Fridays 9-10pm (encores 12-1am). What's Happening!! will be moving timeslots to 10-11pm now, instead of the current 11pm-12am hour. The series will also encore 1-2am. Only Gimme a Break! doesn't encore, as the 11pm-12am airings are different from 8-9pm. With the addition of Gimme a Break! and the return of Sanford & Son, this means That's My Mama and The Jeffersons are not going to be a part of the Friday night comedy block schedule. Not to worry, as they are still airing on the schedule on other days, with The Jeffersons remaining weekday mornings and its Tuesday daytime marathon block. You'll also see sitcom marathons/stunts continue on Saturdays after the Good Times block beginning at 2pm, with What's Happening!! getting a block on Saturday, May 4 from 2-6pm featuring the first eight episodes. You will also see Sanford & Son and What's Happening!! pop-up Sunday mornings with an hour each from 8-10am beginning May 5. No word if Gimme a Break! will regularly air yet on any other day besides Fridays, but you'll for sure see it pop-up on the Saturday stunt block from time to time after 2pm.
In Gimme a Break!, the late singer/actress Nell Carter starred as Nell Harper, housekeeper and den mother to the three daughters of the Kanisky Family, headed by Dolph Sweet as the recently widowed local police chief. Controversial in its day for the 'stereotypical' set-up of a wise-cracking and overweight Black housekeeper who takes care of a white family, the show nevertheless endured six seasons on the strength of Carter's powerful persona, strong comic timing and musical chops. The show featured rare guest appearances from some of the biggest stars, 'before they were stars', including Whitney Houston, Dennis Haysbert, and Danny Glover.
Before Gimme a Break stars, we'll have some Friday night comedy block stunting going on in April. TV One's popular reality series R&B Divas Atlanta returns to the network for its second season premiere Wednesday, May 1, 10PM/ET. In celebration, TV One is branding the month of April "Destination Divas" and will pack the network's schedule with a mix of new original specials, iconic movies and sitcoms plus encores of R&B Divas season one. We of course are interested in the sitcom part. In April, TV One will turn the Friday night comedy block into marathon stunts for "Destination Diva." TV One tells us that each week the sitcom marathons will be focused on the "divas" of the series. For instance, Whitley from A Different World and Regina from Living Single. The April marathons for Fridays are as scheduled from 8-11pm (encores 11pm-2am): The Jeffersons on April 5, Eve on April 12, A Different World on April 19, and Living Single on April 26. The regular Friday night comedy block schedule will return on May 3 with the addition of Gimme a Break. The last regular Friday night block schedule for the current schedule is this Friday (March 29) before a new line-up begins on May 3. Stay with us for continued updates.
Break out the wine! TBS has renewed its hit original comedy Cougar Town, produced by ABC Studios and starring Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez, Josh Hopkins and Brian Van Holt. The network has ordered 13 episodes for season five, which is expected to launch in 2014. Cougar Town joined the TBS lineup in January for the show's fourth season. It currently airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), with the season finale slated for April 9. The fourth season consist of 15 episodes. Since launching its fourth season on TBS Jan. 8, Cougar Town has averaged 2.8 million viewers, 1.7 million adults 18-49 and 812,000 adults 18-34 in Live + 7 delivery. The show ranks as TBS's top original primetime series ever with adults 18-49 and total viewers. As part of Cougar Town's successful transition to cable, new episodes on TBS are drawing an audience whose median age is seven years younger than the show's last season on broadcast. #cougartownrenewed
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Mary Tyler Moore Show Reunion on Hot in Cleveland, Also Renewed for Season 5; Episodic Reviews: New Girl - "Chicago" Airing Tonight on Fox and The New Normal - "About A Boy Scout" Airing Tonight on NBC
TV Land announced that the ladies of Hot in Cleveland will soon be getting some special visitors in town as Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman reunite with their co-star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Betty White and recurring star Georgie Engel. In the episode, Elka (Betty White) and Mamie Sue (Georgia Engel) decide to get their bowling team back together, aptly named GLOB: the Gorgeous Ladies of Bowling. The team, which includes Elka, Mamie Sue, Diane (Moore), Peg (Leachman) and Angie (Harper), had a falling out decades ago after their championship season went to their heads. This is the first time in over 30 years (since 1977) that the five former female castmates will be reunited on the sitcom stage. Mary Tyler Moore previously appeared on Hot in Cleveland as Elka's cellmate in a season two episode, but this will be a different character. Gavin MacLeod and Ed Asner are the only ones missing in this reunion episode (though Asner guest starred last year on the sitcom). The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion episode is taping in front of a live audience on Friday, April 5 at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA and will also guest star Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family). It's going to be bittersweet with Valerie Harper going through terminal brain cancer. It's so great they will reunite one last time. It is slated to air sometime in August, and we will let you know when exactly at a later date. As we all know, Hot in Cleveland returns for its remaining season four episodes with a LIVE (in the east) episode on Wednesday, June 19 at 10pm ET. The sitcom has 12 more episodes to air in season four.
In more Hot in Cleveland news, we are getting a season five as well! TV Land has renewed the sitcom for a fifth season and it will being it to a milestone mark. The 24-episode order brings the series to a total of 104 episodes, surpassing 100 episodes. This past January, CBS Television Distribution announced that it has sold Hot in Cleveland to TV stations in 92% of the United States for a September 2014 launch. Now these stations can expect at least 104 episodes to air five days a week beginning in Fall 2014. The fifth season will start taping this Fall and will likely start airing in early 2014 and be split up in two halves of 12 episodes again.
On the next...New Girl:
By: Todd Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 26). We have special guest appearances by Emmy Award winner Margo Martindale and Nick Kroll. In the episode airing tonight, "Chicago," Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) accompany Nick (Jake Johnson) back to his hometown when his father suddenly dies. Once there, Jess realizes just how responsible Nick can be when she meets Nick's boisterous family members, including his mom, Bonnie (Martindale); his younger brother, Jamie (Kroll); and his cousin from Boston, Bobby (guest star Bill Burr). Meanwhile, Winston helps Schmidt get over his fear of death and Jess pulls out all the (musical) stops when she helps throw a wake fit for a king. Jess brings in some balloons from a guy she bought in a van. Nick gets a call from his mom that his dad has died of a heart attack in Chicago. After inhaling helium, they try to console him with their changed voices. The gang travels to Nick's hometown of Chicago for the funeral. Nick's mom asks him to make the funeral plans. Nick's father wanted a funeral like Elvis had, complete with an Elvis impersonator. Nick is asked to write the eulogy for his father, but he is busy making other arrangements and asks Jess to write it. Meanwhile, Schmidt tells Winston that he can't go to the funeral because he is scared of death. Winston later pretends to be dead in a casket to help get over his fear. Jess talks to Jamie and Bobby to gather more information on Walt for the eulogy. Nick continues to make phone calls. He later brings back a drunk guy to appear as the Elvis impersonator. Bobby learns that a chain that Walt is wearing may be his father's and tries to reclaim it. After the Elvis impersonator passes out, it's up to Jess to step in and help out. Nick remembers his father with a heartfelt speech. Everybody later joins together and sings. That's how Walt would have wanted it. As the episode closes, we learn that Nick's brother has plans that may lead to another family gathering in the future.
By: Todd
NBC's Tuesday freshman comedy produced by Ryan Murphy airs Tuesday nights at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 26). John Stamos returns for another episode. In the episode airing tonight, "About A Boy Scout," despite Bryan's (Andrew Rannells) concerns, David (Justin Bartha), a former Eagle Scout, jumps at the chance to chaperone a Boy Scout overnight with his friend’s son. His skills earn him the respect of the other fathers and scouts, but when one father disagrees with his lifestyle, David's Boy Scout membership is revoked. Elsewhere, Rocky (NeNe Leakes) is helping Goldie (Georgia King) sort out her secret crush on Brice (guest star John Stamos).
David brings his friend's son, Danny, home after a hike in the canyon. He is an Eagle Scout for life and wants his son to one day be one, despite their stance excluding gays. David is offered the opportunity to chaperone a camping trip. Bryan later suggests that they have a scout meeting at their home. David introduces Bryan to the troop. Bryan later reads a letter that David's membership is revoked. David talks to the leaders to see who reported him, but nobody will tell him who contacted the organization. One of the fathers eventually admits to David that he was the one who called the office and tells him why he doesn't want David to be his role model because of his lifestyle. David thanks for him for his honesty. He later tells the troop he can't be their leader, but that he will continue to fight for change. In the secondary story, Rocky attends a Loveaholics meeting and talks to Brice. She also helps Goldie deal with her secret crush on Brice.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Home Improvement Coming to Hallmark Channel in Fall 2013; ABC Family Orders 3rd Season of Baby Daddy
Hallmark Channel has announced that the network has acquired the rights to the popular 1990s sitcom, Home Improvement from Disney-ABC Domestic Television. The off-network comedy series will drive the network's sitcom block with all 203 episodes from the series (seasons one through eight) joining the schedule in September 2013. The classic family comedy joins reruns of Emmy nominated drama, The Good Wife, which begins airing in January 2014, and reruns of award-winning comedy, The Middle, airing March 2014, as the network accelerates its strategy to assemble a "dream team" of programs comprised of acquired hits and original scripted fare.
Currently, Home Improvement airs on both TV Land and TBS. However, TV Land's rights to the series is expiring at the end of August and it looks like Hallmark will be picking their rights up. TV Land is airing the sitcom in the 5am hour right now. TBS will also be losing the rights to the series. Right now they only air the sitcom on Sunday mornings at 7am and after April 28 it is missing from the schedule completely (replaced by an extra Friends rerun). Both Nick at Nite/TV Land and TBS signed a six-year deal for the sitcom back in 2007 (announced in 2004) and that is expiring at the end of this August, 2013. It'll be interesting to see if Hallmark Channel will have exclusive rights or if another network will also pick it up to share with Hallmark. Or maybe either TV Land or TBS will renew it, but that seems unlikely, especially TBS. We'll certainly keep you in the loop.
Based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen, Home Improvement made its network debut on ABC in September 1991 and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms for almost the entire decade. This popular family comedy starred Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Earl Hindman, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Zachery Ty Bryan, Taran Noah Smith, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning as the "Tool Time" Girl. Pamela Anderson (pictured) had a recurring role in the first two seasons as the "Tool Time" Girl. The series was a family viewing favorite and appealed to all age groups. The universal themes of family, parenting, the battle of the sexes - and of course, man's need for "more power" - come to play throughout the episodes of Home Improvement. The show's writing and performances have allowed it to address serious issues in a humorous way, from mid-life crises and career concerns, to health challenges and the ups and downs of adolescent relationships. The final episode aired on May 25, 1999 with a 90-minute finale, which was the fourth highest-rated comedy series finale of the 1990s, behind Cheers, The Cosby Show, and Seinfeld. The show was honored with an abundance of awards, including Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, People's Choice Awards, Nickelodeon Awards and Kid's Choice Awards. America's favorite tool-man, Tim Allen, won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Actor in a Television Comedy Series" for eight consecutive years. Stay with us in the coming months for more details on the sitcom joining Hallmark Channel, including of course premiere date and what times it will air.
ABC Family announced the network has green-lit a third season of its hit original comedy series, Baby Daddy. The order came just as production wrapped on the second season of the series, which premieres on ABC Family, Wednesday, May 29 at 8:30pm ET/PT, after an all-new episode of comedy Melissa & Joey, as we previously announced. The sitcom was an immediate success when it launched last summer and based on the creative strength they saw during production on Season Two, and how the episodes, storylines and characters are developing, they decided to double down on this hit show and keep it in production for additional episodes. Baby Daddy premiered to ratings success in its first season as the #1 new cable comedy of Summer 2012 in key female demos, winning its time period across ABC Family's core Adult 18-34, Adult 18-49 and Millennial demos. Together with Melissa & Joey (its lead-in), Baby Daddy has made ABC Family summer's cable comedy destination on Wednesday nights.
Before we get to season three, we still have season two launching this summer. ABC Family also announced that it has cast Leslie Jordan (The Help, Will & Grace) to guest star on the original comedy series. Jordan will guest star in the holiday episode as a world-weary elf from the local mall who becomes Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) and Danny's (Derek Theler) boss when they get jobs at Santa's Workshop. He gives them a hard time as they desperately search to find Emma the perfect gift for Christmas. The episode will air later this year (closer to the holiday season). The series stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Derek Theler, Tahj Mowry, with Melissa Peterman and Chelsea Kane. The multi-camera comedy shoots in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Week 26 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2012-13 Week 26 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new from 7-11pm. A new AFV starts it off, then new episodes of Once Upon a Time, Revenue and Red Widow, as Revenge episode delivers a bombshell! I think it will be a first or second place finish for ABC, as it again depends on how low Red Widow is. NBC devotes the night to Dateline from 7-9pm then Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars from 9-11pm. NBC will likely finish in third or fourth place. CBS has 60 Minutes at 7, followed by a new Amazing Race, then new episodes of struggling The Good Wife & The Mentalist from 9-11pm. I'm thinking a third finish for CBS in 18-49. Fox's animation block is all new from 8:30-10pm and should be second place in 18-49.
As for the week (week 26), CBS could come back and take the week in 18-49 over Fox because of yesterday's good NCAA showing. It'll be close. ABC will be a close third in 18-49. NBC will be way behind and of course in fourth. For total viewers, CBS will remain first. ABC should be second this time, followed by Fox. And NBC in a distant fourth. As for the coming week (week 27), NBC has the season premiere of The Voice tomorrow that I think will debut lower than the fall season. It will of course beat Dancing in 18-49, but not even close in total viewers. And Dancing shouldn't be down much. NBC also returns Revolution at 10, but I think it might be tough sell to bring back everyone from fall. Should be first in 18-49 at 10, but not by much. ABC also premieres Dancing Results this Tuesday at 9 following Splash, which should be down but not as much as you think, even with The Voice opposite it. Go Nicole Eggert...her first dive is this week! Sitcom season finales on Wednesday: The Neighbors on ABC vs. Whitney on NBC, as the latter will be crushed. CBS will still have the NCAA Tournament in primetime Thursday through Saturday, while Raising Hope has a two-episode finale on Fox Thursday on a special night at 9. And on Friday, Happy Endings returns on ABC at a new night and time, Fri 8|7c!
Summing it up. How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Last Man Standing, Modern Family, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Rules of Engagement, The Mindy Project) or just plain terrible (such as Whitney, New Normal, 1600 Penn).
Households: #1. CBS 6.1/9.8 (rating/share); #2. ABC 5.8/9.3; #3. Fox 5.1/8.0; #4. NBC 2.8/4.4; #5. The CW 1.0/1.5
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 9.72 million; #2. ABC 8.97 million; #3. Fox 8.41 million; #4. NBC 4.25 million; #5. The CW 1.57 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 2.6/7.3 (rating/share); #2. CBS 2.3.6.6; #3. ABC 2.1/6.0; #4. NBC 1.4/3.9; #5. The CW 0.6/1.8
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 9.72 million; #2. ABC 8.97 million; #3. Fox 8.41 million; #4. NBC 4.25 million; #5. The CW 1.57 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 2.6/7.3 (rating/share); #2. CBS 2.3.6.6; #3. ABC 2.1/6.0; #4. NBC 1.4/3.9; #5. The CW 0.6/1.8
Week 26 (March 18-24) Analysis: CBS, ABC and Fox are really close to each other, as ABC was helped by Dancing and the premiere of Splash. Through the first four night network averages, CBS has the lead in HH/total viewers, while Fox is on top in adults 18-49. CBS is a close second place in 18-49, followed very closely by ABC, then NBC is a very distant fourth like every week this winter. In HH/viewers, ABC is a close second behind CBS, while Fox is a close third. And NBC is a distant fourth which is a given without SNF and The Voice. When the week is done, Fox should hang on and take the week in 18-49 once again (but CBS could make it close since it had a good showing from NCAA on Saturday night) and CBS will take total viewers. More on that later. As for the previous week, week 25, Fox took home first in adults 18-49 with only a 1.9 rating. CBS and ABC were tied for second only two tenths behind Fox. NBC was way back there once again in fourth with just a 1.1 18-49 rating again. Among total viewers, it was of course CBS on top easily over Fox and ABC (ABC had the edge over Fox in HH rtg). And NBC was way back behind in fourth, like every week since January. Saving grace coming week 27 with The Voice?
Monday saw a win for ABC again, this time from another reality staple. ABC started with the two-hour Dancing with the Stars season premiere from 8-10pm and did 17.06 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is up five tenths in 18-49 from previous season's debut on September 24. It's going to be a good season. Then Castle was all-new at 10 and did a big 11.26 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, a season high in total viewers. For NBC, they had the two-hour The Biggest Loser season finale from 8-10pm do 7.39 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which up a big seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The Voice launches tomorrow night with new judges Shakira and Usher. At 10pm, the finale of new drama dud Deception didn't do much with 3.41 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. No chance of a return. CBS was almost all-new with its comedies, as a new How I Met Your Mother did 7.44 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which was the best of the CBS block actually. A new Rules of Engagement at 8:30pm did 6.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat. I think that's low and could be better. At 9pm, a new 2 Broke Girls followed with 8.56 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, for a series low. Wow, it might be downhill the rest of the season now with Dancing back and The Voice returning tomorrow. Next, a new Mike & Molly did 8.38 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, also a series low. A new Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 8.99 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, both second to ABC. Fox aired a news Bones at 8 and it did 7.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. At 9pm, week nine of new drama The Following at 9pm didn't miss a beat really with 7.34 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which down just two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired week ten of The Carrie Diaries at 8 and did 0.99 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, which is again on par in 18-49 with previous week. Should do better. At 9, 90210 was preempted for a Hart of Dixie repeat that did 0.5 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, on par with 90210 from previous week in 18-49 - OUCH!
On Tuesday, it was CBS with the win but ABC was close behind. On CBS, NCIS was new and did 19.79 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is good but little below normal. At 9pm, a new NCIS: Los Angeles (which was a backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off) did 16.84 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, holding more of its lead-in that usual. At 10pm, week four of Golden Boy did 9.26 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat. Onto ABC, at 8pm the series premiere of Splash was sampled well (like I predicted) with 9.02 million and a 2.6 18-48 rating, up a full point in 18-49 from previous week's Celebrity Wife Swap airing. Very good! At 9pm, a special recap of the previous night's Dancing with the Stars did 9.76 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up nine tenths in 18-49 from previous week's finale of The Taste. Look for The Results Show premiere this Tuesday, so if a recap can do that well, look for the Results to do better. A new Body of Proof aired at 10pm and did 8.42 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which was up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a new season high. Like I predicted, it would do better once compatible Dancing comes as a lead-in. NBC aired Betty White's Off Their Rockers from 8-9pm as the first half-hour did 3.66 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week, but that was an encore. Another new episode followed at 8:30pm and did 3.7 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, also up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, Go On was new and it only did 2.87 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, for another series low. At 9:30pm, it was more bad news as a new The New Normal did a horrible 2.11 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Smash did 2.66 million and an embarrassing 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a new series low. It is moving to Saturdays at 9 beginning April 6. I bet they wished they had more Parenthood episodes now right? Fox started with Hell's Kitchen at 8 and did 4.95 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's 8pm airing. At 9pm, New Girl returned and did 4.26 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is OK at best. It certainly could do better. At 9:30pm, a new The Mindy Project did 3.07 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, as that skewed young but this will never be a big hit. The CW preempted Hart of Dixie for a Justin Timberlake special and did 1.01 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating. A repeat of Beauty & the Beast at 9 did 0.52 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week.
Wednesday it was Fox with the win thanks to American Idol, as it airs two-hours every Wednesday and Fox only programs 2 hours a night. But first, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: Caramoan at 8 doing 9.79 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's season high. Criminal Minds was new at 9 and did 11.58 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which is higher than it did the past few airings. At 10pm, a new CSI did 10.53 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, good for an easily first place at 10. ABC kicked off the night with a repeat of The Middle doing 4.78 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's repeat but still beat a new airing of NBC's comedy, ouch. New episodes return this Wednesday. At 8:30pm a new episode of The Neighbors did 4.76 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. Season finale is this week. At 9pm, a repeat of Modern Family did the best of the block with 5.42 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was also on par in 18-49 with previous week. New episode this week! Suburgatory followed at 9:30pm with new episode doing 4.19 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a season low. At 10pm, Nashville was a repeat and did 2.46 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. New episodes return this Wednesday! On Fox, a two-hour American Idol did a solid 12.94 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, but down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week, as it slowly is going down. Onto NBC a new episode of Whitney started it off at 8pm with 3.12 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week and still couldn't top an ABC comedy repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed and did 2.52 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed at 9pm with a new episode that did only 5.51 million and only a 1.6 18-49 rating, this show is not strong at all anyway. At 10pm, a new Chicago Fire did 6.39 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which was not close this time for first. The CW aired a new episode of new hit Arrow and did 3.02 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. At 9pm, a new Supernatural did 2.16 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, skewing very young and younger than its lead-in.
On Thursday, Idol plummeted even more and ABC tied Fox for first. Starting with ABC, the season premiere of the regular people version of Wife Swap aired and did 4.97 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, it's decent enough for this tough hour. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was all-new and did 9.39 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, up four tenths in 18-49 from previous week's season low. Good! At 10pm, ABC aired a new showing of TV's #1 show at 10pm Scandal doing 8.51 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, this show just doesn't miss a beat, people! CBS preempted comedies The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, along with dramas Person of Interest and Elementary for day one coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In primetime, CBS only averaged 4.71 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating for its mix of S. Dakota/Michigan and VCU/Akron. Fox had American Idol from 8-9pm and did 11.93 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week and that wasn't #1 for the night even without Big Bang. Glee aired at 9pm and did 5.91 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. NBC aired a mix of new and repeat episodes of its comedies, as week seven of Community did 2.95 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. I still find it odd that this show airs at 8pm in the first place. Parks & Recreation was preempted for a new episode of the dud 1600 Penn at a special time of 8:30pm and did 2.49 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, seven tenths below Parks from previous week in 18-49. A repeat of The Office was next and did only 2.27 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating. At 9:30m a new 1600 Penn, at its normal time, did only 2.32 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and tying its series low. NBC will burn the final two episode off the next two Thursday again. At 10pm, NBC had a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 4.24 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as that was up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries aired at 8 and was new and did 2.65 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9, Beauty and the Beast was also new and did 1.72 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC easily was #1 in 18-49, even when its top show was a repeat. CBS preempted Undercover Boss and the rest of its line-up for more NCAA Basketball coverage. Kitchen Nightmares was a repeat for Fox but still was in third as ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country season finales were easily first place. NBC's Fashion Star was again in fourth place. ABC was still in first at 9pm even when Shark Tank is a repeat, tying a new Grimm on NBC. CBS was third with NCAA Basketball. At 10, Rock Center was last place again for NBC, losing to first place 20/20 on ABC and second place NCAA on CBS. Fox again struggled badly with Touch at 9, with distant fourth place finish.
Saturday had CBS win with NCAA Basketball coverage, by far doing its best on day three. Fox did OK in the 8pm hour with Cops, but struggled at 9 again with a repeat of The Following. CBS preempted 48 Hours, while ABC went with 20/20 Saturday from 9-11pm. NBC settled for repeats of American Ninja Warrior, Chicago Fire and SNL which all struggled but the latter was second place at 10. ABC aired a repeat of Splash premiere at 8pm and did decent with more sampling.
Monday saw a win for ABC again, this time from another reality staple. ABC started with the two-hour Dancing with the Stars season premiere from 8-10pm and did 17.06 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is up five tenths in 18-49 from previous season's debut on September 24. It's going to be a good season. Then Castle was all-new at 10 and did a big 11.26 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, a season high in total viewers. For NBC, they had the two-hour The Biggest Loser season finale from 8-10pm do 7.39 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which up a big seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The Voice launches tomorrow night with new judges Shakira and Usher. At 10pm, the finale of new drama dud Deception didn't do much with 3.41 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. No chance of a return. CBS was almost all-new with its comedies, as a new How I Met Your Mother did 7.44 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which was the best of the CBS block actually. A new Rules of Engagement at 8:30pm did 6.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat. I think that's low and could be better. At 9pm, a new 2 Broke Girls followed with 8.56 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, for a series low. Wow, it might be downhill the rest of the season now with Dancing back and The Voice returning tomorrow. Next, a new Mike & Molly did 8.38 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, also a series low. A new Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 8.99 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, both second to ABC. Fox aired a news Bones at 8 and it did 7.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. At 9pm, week nine of new drama The Following at 9pm didn't miss a beat really with 7.34 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which down just two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired week ten of The Carrie Diaries at 8 and did 0.99 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, which is again on par in 18-49 with previous week. Should do better. At 9, 90210 was preempted for a Hart of Dixie repeat that did 0.5 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, on par with 90210 from previous week in 18-49 - OUCH!
On Tuesday, it was CBS with the win but ABC was close behind. On CBS, NCIS was new and did 19.79 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is good but little below normal. At 9pm, a new NCIS: Los Angeles (which was a backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off) did 16.84 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, holding more of its lead-in that usual. At 10pm, week four of Golden Boy did 9.26 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat. Onto ABC, at 8pm the series premiere of Splash was sampled well (like I predicted) with 9.02 million and a 2.6 18-48 rating, up a full point in 18-49 from previous week's Celebrity Wife Swap airing. Very good! At 9pm, a special recap of the previous night's Dancing with the Stars did 9.76 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up nine tenths in 18-49 from previous week's finale of The Taste. Look for The Results Show premiere this Tuesday, so if a recap can do that well, look for the Results to do better. A new Body of Proof aired at 10pm and did 8.42 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which was up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a new season high. Like I predicted, it would do better once compatible Dancing comes as a lead-in. NBC aired Betty White's Off Their Rockers from 8-9pm as the first half-hour did 3.66 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week, but that was an encore. Another new episode followed at 8:30pm and did 3.7 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, also up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, Go On was new and it only did 2.87 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, for another series low. At 9:30pm, it was more bad news as a new The New Normal did a horrible 2.11 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Smash did 2.66 million and an embarrassing 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a new series low. It is moving to Saturdays at 9 beginning April 6. I bet they wished they had more Parenthood episodes now right? Fox started with Hell's Kitchen at 8 and did 4.95 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's 8pm airing. At 9pm, New Girl returned and did 4.26 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is OK at best. It certainly could do better. At 9:30pm, a new The Mindy Project did 3.07 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, as that skewed young but this will never be a big hit. The CW preempted Hart of Dixie for a Justin Timberlake special and did 1.01 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating. A repeat of Beauty & the Beast at 9 did 0.52 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week.
Wednesday it was Fox with the win thanks to American Idol, as it airs two-hours every Wednesday and Fox only programs 2 hours a night. But first, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: Caramoan at 8 doing 9.79 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's season high. Criminal Minds was new at 9 and did 11.58 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which is higher than it did the past few airings. At 10pm, a new CSI did 10.53 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, good for an easily first place at 10. ABC kicked off the night with a repeat of The Middle doing 4.78 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's repeat but still beat a new airing of NBC's comedy, ouch. New episodes return this Wednesday. At 8:30pm a new episode of The Neighbors did 4.76 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. Season finale is this week. At 9pm, a repeat of Modern Family did the best of the block with 5.42 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was also on par in 18-49 with previous week. New episode this week! Suburgatory followed at 9:30pm with new episode doing 4.19 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a season low. At 10pm, Nashville was a repeat and did 2.46 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. New episodes return this Wednesday! On Fox, a two-hour American Idol did a solid 12.94 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, but down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week, as it slowly is going down. Onto NBC a new episode of Whitney started it off at 8pm with 3.12 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week and still couldn't top an ABC comedy repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed and did 2.52 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed at 9pm with a new episode that did only 5.51 million and only a 1.6 18-49 rating, this show is not strong at all anyway. At 10pm, a new Chicago Fire did 6.39 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which was not close this time for first. The CW aired a new episode of new hit Arrow and did 3.02 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. At 9pm, a new Supernatural did 2.16 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, skewing very young and younger than its lead-in.
On Thursday, Idol plummeted even more and ABC tied Fox for first. Starting with ABC, the season premiere of the regular people version of Wife Swap aired and did 4.97 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, it's decent enough for this tough hour. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was all-new and did 9.39 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, up four tenths in 18-49 from previous week's season low. Good! At 10pm, ABC aired a new showing of TV's #1 show at 10pm Scandal doing 8.51 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, this show just doesn't miss a beat, people! CBS preempted comedies The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, along with dramas Person of Interest and Elementary for day one coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In primetime, CBS only averaged 4.71 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating for its mix of S. Dakota/Michigan and VCU/Akron. Fox had American Idol from 8-9pm and did 11.93 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week and that wasn't #1 for the night even without Big Bang. Glee aired at 9pm and did 5.91 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. NBC aired a mix of new and repeat episodes of its comedies, as week seven of Community did 2.95 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. I still find it odd that this show airs at 8pm in the first place. Parks & Recreation was preempted for a new episode of the dud 1600 Penn at a special time of 8:30pm and did 2.49 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, seven tenths below Parks from previous week in 18-49. A repeat of The Office was next and did only 2.27 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating. At 9:30m a new 1600 Penn, at its normal time, did only 2.32 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and tying its series low. NBC will burn the final two episode off the next two Thursday again. At 10pm, NBC had a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 4.24 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as that was up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries aired at 8 and was new and did 2.65 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9, Beauty and the Beast was also new and did 1.72 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC easily was #1 in 18-49, even when its top show was a repeat. CBS preempted Undercover Boss and the rest of its line-up for more NCAA Basketball coverage. Kitchen Nightmares was a repeat for Fox but still was in third as ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country season finales were easily first place. NBC's Fashion Star was again in fourth place. ABC was still in first at 9pm even when Shark Tank is a repeat, tying a new Grimm on NBC. CBS was third with NCAA Basketball. At 10, Rock Center was last place again for NBC, losing to first place 20/20 on ABC and second place NCAA on CBS. Fox again struggled badly with Touch at 9, with distant fourth place finish.
Saturday had CBS win with NCAA Basketball coverage, by far doing its best on day three. Fox did OK in the 8pm hour with Cops, but struggled at 9 again with a repeat of The Following. CBS preempted 48 Hours, while ABC went with 20/20 Saturday from 9-11pm. NBC settled for repeats of American Ninja Warrior, Chicago Fire and SNL which all struggled but the latter was second place at 10. ABC aired a repeat of Splash premiere at 8pm and did decent with more sampling.
Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new from 7-11pm. A new AFV starts it off, then new episodes of Once Upon a Time, Revenue and Red Widow, as Revenge episode delivers a bombshell! I think it will be a first or second place finish for ABC, as it again depends on how low Red Widow is. NBC devotes the night to Dateline from 7-9pm then Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars from 9-11pm. NBC will likely finish in third or fourth place. CBS has 60 Minutes at 7, followed by a new Amazing Race, then new episodes of struggling The Good Wife & The Mentalist from 9-11pm. I'm thinking a third finish for CBS in 18-49. Fox's animation block is all new from 8:30-10pm and should be second place in 18-49.
As for the week (week 26), CBS could come back and take the week in 18-49 over Fox because of yesterday's good NCAA showing. It'll be close. ABC will be a close third in 18-49. NBC will be way behind and of course in fourth. For total viewers, CBS will remain first. ABC should be second this time, followed by Fox. And NBC in a distant fourth. As for the coming week (week 27), NBC has the season premiere of The Voice tomorrow that I think will debut lower than the fall season. It will of course beat Dancing in 18-49, but not even close in total viewers. And Dancing shouldn't be down much. NBC also returns Revolution at 10, but I think it might be tough sell to bring back everyone from fall. Should be first in 18-49 at 10, but not by much. ABC also premieres Dancing Results this Tuesday at 9 following Splash, which should be down but not as much as you think, even with The Voice opposite it. Go Nicole Eggert...her first dive is this week! Sitcom season finales on Wednesday: The Neighbors on ABC vs. Whitney on NBC, as the latter will be crushed. CBS will still have the NCAA Tournament in primetime Thursday through Saturday, while Raising Hope has a two-episode finale on Fox Thursday on a special night at 9. And on Friday, Happy Endings returns on ABC at a new night and time, Fri 8|7c!
Week 26 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 25 -- March 11-17)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode at 8 did 4.89 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is on par again with previous week in 18-49.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) 2 airings - Its normal time of 7:30pm was new and did 2.83 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which could be higher. Another new episode at a special time of 8:30pm did 4.05 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's special.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) 2 airings - The normal 8:30 airing was preempted again, but a new episode aired at a special time of 9:30pm again and did 3.62 million and 1.7 18-49 rating, back down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat at 7pm did 1.8 million and just a 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode at 9 did 4.92 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week but still the best of the block and #1 for the night.
- American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode at 8 did 7.44 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, solid and the best of the CBS block. Wow...and it wasn't anything big for this show either.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - Week seven at 8:30pm did 6.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, up two tenths in 18-49 from the previous week when lead-in was a repeat. This is not impressive as previous week.
- 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A new episode at 9 did 8.56 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, for a series low. Still doing decent, but this is not good news and it could get lower in April/May.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - A new showing at 9:30pm did 8.38 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, also a low. Lately this show was building from its lead-in in total viewers, but couldn't this time.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
- New Girl (Fox) - A new episode (with guest Odette Annable) did 4.26 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which could be better.
- Go On (NBC) - A new episode of this series did just 2.87 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating for a series low. Not good at all.
- The Mindy Project (Fox) - A new episode did 3.07 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is OK. It skews very young.
- The New Normal (NBC) - A new at 9:30pm was clobbered with just 2.11 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week's repeat airing. Eeck.
- The Middle (ABC) - A repeat at 8 did 4.78 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. FINALLY new episodes return this Wednesday.
- Whitney (NBC) 2 airings - A new episode at 8 did 3.12 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a series low. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed with only 2.52 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 week-to-week.
- The Neighbors (ABC) - A new showing of this new comedy did 4.76 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. This show deserves to return and shouldn't be judged on the past 3 weeks when its lead-in was a repeat. It would work well on Fridays.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9 did 5.42 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week and #1 for the block as usual even when it is a repeat. Sign of a strong anchor. New episodes of this series returns this Wednesday as well. Hey hey!
- Suburgatory (ABC) - A new episode at 9:30pm did 4.19 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which is not fair to judge since the lead-in was a repeat. Its tougher for a show that starts in the second half-hour of an hour to do decent ratings when the first half-hour are repeats.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - preempted.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - preempted.
- Community (NBC) - Week seven did 2.95 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which is on par in 18-49 with previous week. No comedy competition this time...
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - preempted.
- The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9 did 2.27 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating.
- 1600 Penn (NBC) 2 airings - A new episode at 9:30pm did only 2.32 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from the previous week but its lead-in was a repeat. Still not too good. A special new episode aired earlier in the night at 8:30pm and did only 2.49 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating.
- Last Man Standing (ABC) - The season finale did a prelim 7.85 million and a prelim 1.6 18-49 rating, which was up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's preliminaries. Great season ender with JTT! A lock to return next season.
- Malibu Country (ABC) - The season finale of this new comedy did a prelim 7.0 million and a prelim 1.4 18-49 rating, up four tenths in 18-49 from previous week's prelim ratings. I also think this will return next season. Good potential to grow even more.
- None.
Summing it up. How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Last Man Standing, Modern Family, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Rules of Engagement, The Mindy Project) or just plain terrible (such as Whitney, New Normal, 1600 Penn).
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Digital Digest: New George Lopez Show DVDs; Mill Creek Wrapping Up Carsey Werner Series; I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later DVD Review
Welcome to the very first Digital Digest of this (so far) winter-like spring! This week, we've got news of even more series being completed on DVD, some "abandoned" series being revived, and a review of I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later. Let's get rolling!
DIGITAL NEWS
It doesn't seem to happen too often, but every now and then, we hear of a series that was once abandoned on DVD suddenly being continued. This week, there is news of a continuation of a series that was last released six years ago. On July 16, Warner Home Video will finally release The George Lopez Show - The Complete Third Season. The four disc set will come at a $29.98 MSRP.
Meanwhile, Mill Creek is picking up an abandoned series as well, although they're restarting the series by releasing the first season... and as often happens with Mill Creek, they'll be doing it in style with uncut episodes. On May 14, the studio will be releasing Highway to Heaven - The Complete First Season. A&E Home Video previously released the first few seasons in edited fashion, before abandoning it at least. But now, the plans are to get the entire series released, and also in unedited form, which is sure to please fans.
Now onto some series coming to completion... and before we go on, we should just say that May 14 will be a busy day for Mill Creek! First up, they'll be releasing the final season of Roseanne with Roseanne - The Complete Ninth Season. But for fans who would rather have it all in one box set, the other option is Roseanne - The Complete Series, also scheduled to be released on the same day. They just wrapped up the series That '70s Show last week, but now they'll be making that one even bigger with their release of That '70s Show - The Complete Series, which again, is being released on May 14. But that still isn't all! On the same day, yet another complete series comes with 3rd Rock from the Sun - The Complete Series. All of these complete series sets come at a low MSRP (the first two are around $70, and the last one at about $45), and furthermore, they complete every series that Mill Creek acquired from the Carsey-Werner library... now if only they could pick up some more series from that library and get those started!
Our last story on "finishing up" series is actually not quite a finish, but it is very close. On June 11, CBS will release Perry Mason - The Final Season: Season 9, Volume 1. It has been a long journey for these releases (this will mark the 19th release of this series!), but it appears that we'll finally be approaching the end of the series.
Finally, Comcast Xfinity subscribers have something big coming next week with the first ever Watchathon Week. Next week only, subscribers can enjoy 3,542 episodes of some of the latest series airing on broadcast, cable, and premium cable... for free! A small list of the series included is as follows: Girls, The Mindy Project, Go On, Veep, House of Lies, Legit, Tosh.0, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty and Psych. The full list, which is MUCH longer, can be seen here.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 26) is a bit light on releases, but it does bring us MADtv - The Complete Second Season (review) and Men at Work - The Complete First Season. We hope to have a review of Men at Work soon.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later (Sony Choice Collection, $20.95)
by skees53
I Dream of Jeannie had a nice five year run in the '60s on NBC, and even after it was canceled, it was one of those shows that fans still enjoyed and wanted to see more of. So, in 1985, NBC decided to bring back that magic of Jeannie one more time in a special reunion movie, set to air and take place in a time where NBC was airing series such as The A-Team, Night Court, Gimme a Break, The Cosby Show, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, and 227 (with the last two, in fact, debuting only about a month before the movie aired). So it wasn't that NBC was desperate to do something to get ratings. They already had the top-rated series on TV, and airing this movie was just a little something extra.
Unfortunately, before the movie could even begin, there was already a problem. Barbara Eden, of course, was ready and willing to play the role of Jeannie (not initially, but was eventually coaxed into doing it, and says that she has no regrets), but Larry Hagman was a little busy with something else in the '80s: he was playing J.R. Ewing on one of the biggest series of the decade (and in the scope of his career, bigger than I Dream of Jeannie), Dallas. So producers were forced to come up with another actor to play the role of Major Nelson. The only logical choice was to pick Wayne Rogers, an actor who looked nothing like the real Tony Nelson (OK, so maybe that was a bit sarcastic), and was best known at the time for playing in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H. Meanwhile, it only made sense that Jeannie would be a mother by now... so enter Mackenzie Astin as son T.J. Nelson. The movie wasn't completely without some of the original supporting cast, though. Bill Daily did return to play his role of Roger Healy, and there is even a brief appearance of Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows.
The plot of the film focuses on Major Nelson, who is about to finally retire from NASA... the day that Jeannie has been waiting her entire life for. Over the years, Jeannie has morphed into a stereotypical sweater-wearing housewife and wants nothing more than to spend time with her family. But a "last blast" into space before retirement upsets Jeannie quite a bit... so much that she decides to get a separation from Tony, and moves into her own apartment. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse when her evil sister, Jeannie II, decides that this is the perfect scheme to steal Tony for herself, so she teams with Haji (who is now a black guy who owns a fitness center in the US) to break Jeannie and Tony up for good, and when an emergency strikes in space, a little bit of blackmail could mean the end of Jeannie and Tony's relationship forever. The story was written, directed, and produced by some of the "big names" of 60s-80s TV, with director William Asher (Bewitched), producer Barbara Corday (Cagney and Lacey, also president of Columbia Pictures at the time), and teleplay writer Irma Kalish (everything). The runtime of the movie is 1:34:15.
The packaging for this DVD is in line with other Sony Choice Collection titles. On the cover, there is a photo of Jeannie in an elaborate costume (something she didn't really wear too much in the movie), and on the back, there is a snapshot from the movie of Jeannie kissing Major Nelson. There is also a brief description of the movie on the back. Inside, you'll find the one disc, which like all other Choice Collection titles, only has the title of the movie printed on a white background.
There are no menus on the DVD. Instead, it just plays immediately upon inserting the disc.
Considering that this movie has largely been in obscurity since it originally aired, the video and audio quality is surprisingly good. I didn't notice any major flaws in the quality at all, even though it certainly does look a bit dated.
Unfortunately, before the movie could even begin, there was already a problem. Barbara Eden, of course, was ready and willing to play the role of Jeannie (not initially, but was eventually coaxed into doing it, and says that she has no regrets), but Larry Hagman was a little busy with something else in the '80s: he was playing J.R. Ewing on one of the biggest series of the decade (and in the scope of his career, bigger than I Dream of Jeannie), Dallas. So producers were forced to come up with another actor to play the role of Major Nelson. The only logical choice was to pick Wayne Rogers, an actor who looked nothing like the real Tony Nelson (OK, so maybe that was a bit sarcastic), and was best known at the time for playing in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H. Meanwhile, it only made sense that Jeannie would be a mother by now... so enter Mackenzie Astin as son T.J. Nelson. The movie wasn't completely without some of the original supporting cast, though. Bill Daily did return to play his role of Roger Healy, and there is even a brief appearance of Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows.
The plot of the film focuses on Major Nelson, who is about to finally retire from NASA... the day that Jeannie has been waiting her entire life for. Over the years, Jeannie has morphed into a stereotypical sweater-wearing housewife and wants nothing more than to spend time with her family. But a "last blast" into space before retirement upsets Jeannie quite a bit... so much that she decides to get a separation from Tony, and moves into her own apartment. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse when her evil sister, Jeannie II, decides that this is the perfect scheme to steal Tony for herself, so she teams with Haji (who is now a black guy who owns a fitness center in the US) to break Jeannie and Tony up for good, and when an emergency strikes in space, a little bit of blackmail could mean the end of Jeannie and Tony's relationship forever. The story was written, directed, and produced by some of the "big names" of 60s-80s TV, with director William Asher (Bewitched), producer Barbara Corday (Cagney and Lacey, also president of Columbia Pictures at the time), and teleplay writer Irma Kalish (everything). The runtime of the movie is 1:34:15.
The packaging for this DVD is in line with other Sony Choice Collection titles. On the cover, there is a photo of Jeannie in an elaborate costume (something she didn't really wear too much in the movie), and on the back, there is a snapshot from the movie of Jeannie kissing Major Nelson. There is also a brief description of the movie on the back. Inside, you'll find the one disc, which like all other Choice Collection titles, only has the title of the movie printed on a white background.
There are no menus on the DVD. Instead, it just plays immediately upon inserting the disc.
Considering that this movie has largely been in obscurity since it originally aired, the video and audio quality is surprisingly good. I didn't notice any major flaws in the quality at all, even though it certainly does look a bit dated.
I've been hearing nothing but complaints about how bad this movie is in some of the reviews I've read from other people, but it really isn't that bad. Mediocre, certainly, but it is watchable (stay tuned next week as we review a reunion movie that was less than mediocre!), and does have a small amount of charm that the original series had. I really think that if Larry Hagman had returned, this movie would have had a bit more potential. Wayne Rogers is a great actor, sure, but he isn't Tony Nelson. Will Ferrell, for example, is a great actor too, but we saw how awful he was in the Bewitched movie a few years ago (which wasn't a reunion, but the point is still the same). Also, I think the movie really overdid the costumes for Jeannie II. I get it, it was the '80s, but they put her in every possible costume that anybody could be wearing in the '80s every time she appeared on screen, and it really just got weird. Still, I'm glad that Sony released this, and I hope to see the other reunion movie, I Still Dream of Jeannie, eventually show up on DVD.
(4/5 stars)
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I Dream of Jeannie on TV.com(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Rashida Jones (Twitter), "I'm terrified of Twitter. Please be gentle."
Claim to Fame: The daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton grew up in an "all star" family and while growing up, she attended school with the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Unlike them, however, Jones went on to Harvard, where she graduated in 1997. However, after graduation, she started to make a name for herself in Hollywood. Her earliest TV roles were on Freaks and Geeks and Boston Public, and eventually she landed a recurring role on The Office. Currently, she plays the role of Ann Perkins in the NBC series Parks and Recreation.
Why You Should Follow Her: Jones is a very dynamic actress, and has always managed to woo fans in all of the roles she has played. But what we like about her even more is that she comes from two talented parents, yet has managed to find her own success for actually being a good actress whom fans love for her own abilities. On Twitter, she keeps fans updated on what she is doing in life, and isn't shy when it comes to controversy... including her retweeting of some negative Tweets directed towards her from a few months ago. But above all else, she comes across as a down-to-earth person (even though she is both a celebrity and well-educated) and as a fun person.
Pick of the Tweets: "Too late to throw my hat in the ring for Pope candidate? I look dope in white. Also, I'm Jewish & a woman & biracial &...wait...forget it." (March 1, 2013)
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
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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)
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