SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

COZI TV, the new network developed by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal, announced that it is now available in 47.5 million homes or 42% of the country. The network, which officially launched at the beginning of the year, reached this latest milestone by recently adding WMFP in Boston, KUBE in Houston and KHSB in Kansas City to its growing roster of affiliates. In addition, COZI TV named award-winning journalist and television executive Diane Petzke as Director of Programming and Promotion for the network. In this new role, Petzke will oversee scheduling for COZI TV and expand awareness of the network through an aggressive marketing and social media strategy. SitcomsOnline.com hears that more classic TV is on the horizon, so stay tuned! Perhaps some goodies by the fall. Maybe some sitcoms will make their way to COZI? What classic shows (50s-80s) would you like to see that isn't airing anywhere right now? Sound off on Facebook!

Current COZI hit shows like Bionic Woman, Magnum, P.I. and The Six Million Dollar Man are being enthusiastically welcomed by audiences nationwide. COZI TV airs some of America's most beloved and iconic television shows and hit movies of all time as well as original programming. Almost 40 stations, including the 10 NBC-owned stations that serve most of the nation's largest markets, now air the network, mainly on their multicast channels. Other COZI TV affiliates include WMYD in Detroit, WTHR in Indianapolis and KSNV in Las Vegas. Stay with us for continued updates and we hope to bring you some programming news very soon!

Our buddy Chris Mann recently released his latest episode of Reimagine That! The latest episode has classic Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives star Jaime Lyn Bauer. She shared with Chris, her emotional remembrances of the late, great Jeanne Cooper. "I loved Jeanne," Jaime Lyn says, choking back tears. "She was a very important person in my life. She saved me through some of my worst years. She befriended me, she mothered me. She was an incredible woman. And she was very troubled at that time as well, in her personal life. And we were good for each other. We hung out a lot. I even dated Corbin, her son, for a while, and she was graciously alright with it." She also talked about what sitcom legend Henry Winkler (Happy Days) taught her about dealing with fans, how Leslie Nielsen shielded her from a physically threatening Y&R viewer who hated Lorie Brooks, and how she drew on her observations at The Playboy Mansion in creating Y&R's original bad girl-turned-heroine. Speaking of Young and the Restless, same day reruns will begin on Monday, July 1, 2013 on TVGN and air weekdays at 7pm and again the next day at 10am.

This is part one of Chris' interview with Jaime Lyn Bauer. In part 2, which is posting on Friday, she talks about being approached recently for Y&R to return for a week of taping ... and where she'd see her iconic character of Lorie Brooks nearly 40 years after she first premiered (around the time that Jeanne Cooper's character did) on Y&R. Part 2 will be timed to be published before the Daytime Emmys this weekend. As you may know, this awards show will include a tribute to Jeanne Cooper. Also coming up on Friday's show: a fun "Reality Reimagined" interview with TV historian/author and Comfort TV creator/blogger David Hofstede. But before part two comes out, go listen to part one. And stay with us for continued updates.

Starting today (Monday, June 10) The Waltons is back regularly on UP (formerly known as GMC) replacing Family Ties from 10am-12pm Monday-Friday. The drama was airing in the block previously but Family Ties was slotted in this block last week but looks like the ratings weren't good enough as the veteran '70s drama is back. Family Ties will continue to still air weeknights from 2-3am, though. This was a last minute decision late on Friday, so there are no other schedule changes for UP, so everything else will remain intact. In more news on The Waltons, we have some schedule maneuvers for Hallmark Channel as well that was announced last minute and also begins today. The Waltons get a better slot and an additional hour added, as the series moves to 4pm & 5pm. The drama was airing at 2pm, but now The Brady Bunch is moving to afternoons and will air from 2-4pm leading into The Waltons. As you know, The Brady Bunch was airing 5-8pm, but now The Waltons will take that 5pm hour and Little House on the Prairie once again moves to a prime slot airing weekdays from 6-9pm. Little House on the Prairie was airing in the afternoons from 3-5pm, so now it gains an hour and moves to a better block. Frasier was airing from 8pm-12am, but will now be reduced by an hour to 9pm-12am (with encores from 3-5am still). Everything else remain intact, as Happy Days is still not back on the schedule. Stay with us for continued updates on both UP and Hallmark Channel, as always.

ABC Family is adding an extra all-new episode each for its original sitcoms this Wednesday (June 12), as we first broke on Twitter on Friday. Comedic dancing clip series Dancing Fools is being pulled from the Wednesday schedule beginning this Wednesday at 9pm, so as a result Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy will get an extra episode each for one week only. The sitcoms will still have original episodes in their normal 8:00pm & 8:30pm timeslots, but at 9:00pm another new Baby Daddy episode will air, followed by another new Melissa & Joey at 9:30pm on June 12. Then Wednesdays beginning June 19, encores of Baby Daddy and Melissa & Joey will air in the 9pm hour following original episodes in the 8pm hour until July 24 when Spell-Mageddon launches. As for Dancing Fools (which is hosted by Baby Daddy star Melissa Peterman), the series is being moved to Fridays starting this Friday (June 14) at 7:00pm replacing an America's Funniest Home Videos rerun. Then a rerun of Dancing Fools will follow at 7:30pm, followed by encores of Baby Daddy and Melissa & Joey in the 8pm hour to create a new Friday night comedy block. Dancing Fools has struggled in the ratings in its first two weeks so ABC Family is quickly moving it to a less pressure night. But we can't wait for double the action on Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy this Wednesday! Stay tuned for any further updates.

Summer has started but there are still sitcom airings, new and repeats. We will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long! Here are our summer ratings:

• The Simpsons (Fox) - A summer repeat at 8pm did 3.24 million and a 1.46 18-49 rating, which is pretty good for a summer repeat in 18-49.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did only 1.83 million and a 0.72 18-49 rating.
• Bob's Burgers (Fox) - An encore airing at 8:30pm did 2.92 million and a 1.31 18-49 rating, off some from its lead-in.
• Family Guy (Fox) 2 airings - A repeat at 9 posted 3.58 million and a 1.69 18-49 rating, while a second repeat at 9:30pm followed with an even better 3.72 million and a 1.77 18-49 rating. Very good in 18-49.
• American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did 2.06 million and a 0.93 18-49 rating.

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat at 8 did 3.43 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's Memorial Day airing.
• Raising Hope (Fox) - A repeat at 8pm did 2.23 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A repeat of this comedy did 3.42 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, like its lead-in, down a tenth in 18-49 week-to-week.
• The Goodwin Games (Fox) - A brand new episode at 8:30pm did only 1.62 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 for its best rating yet.
• 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A repeat did 4.52 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week like all CBS Monday comedies so far.
• New Girl (Fox) - A repeat at 9 did 1.4 million and just a 0.6 18-49 rating, again on par in 18-49 with previous week. It doesn't repeat well for an anchor, though.
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - 5.0 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating for a repeat, but this was down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week.
• Anger Management (Fox) - A new episode, and the first airing ever on Fox, did 1.65 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating at 9:30pm, a tenth better in 18-49 than previous week's Mindy repeat.

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• The Middle (ABC) - A summer repeat did 4.12 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week.
• Family Tools (ABC) - A new episode at 8:30pm did 3.44 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week, for a series low.
• Modern Family (ABC) - At 9pm, a summer repeat did 4.49 million and a 1.4 rating, on par in 18-49 week-to-week.
• How To Live With Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life) (ABC) - A new episode at 9:30pm did 3.86 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week for a series low.

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A repeat at 8 did 9.4 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Nice. Should stay above a 2 all summer.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A repeat at 8:30pm did 7.23 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is good for a repeat of course.
• Save Me (NBC) 2 episodes - The first all-new episode did 3.12 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. A second episode followed with just 2.76 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, also up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9 did just 1.83 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 week-to-week. 
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 1.76 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week but built from its lead-in for the third straight week.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• Last Man Standing (ABC) - A special repeat at 8 did a preliminary 1.87 million and a prelim 0.3 18-49 rating.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Fox Animation Domination from 7-10pm.

Summing it up. Repeats of The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, & Family Guy (from week 1) were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as repeats of Modern Family, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as  repeats of New Girl and new airings of The Goodwin Games, Save Me).



Feeling the repeat blues? Look for original sitcoms on TV this summer. Some highlights include: Mondays at 8:30pm on Fox will be original episodes of The Goodwin Games at 8:30pm and a brand new episode of the FX sitcom Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen Mondays at 9:30pm on Fox tomorrow night. ABC has original episodes of Family Tools on Wednesdays at 8:30pm and How To Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) on Wednesdays at 9:30pm through the end of June. Lastly on broadcast, NBC has back-to-back episodes of Save Me on Thursdays starting at 8pm. Week three of the new season for hilarious cable sitcoms Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy is this Wednesday beginning at 8pm on ABC Family. And there will be a special bonus hour of both series with new episodes in the 9pm hour as well! TV Land will launch the summer season of Hot in Cleveland with a LIVE episode on Wednesday, June 19 at 10pm. The season premiere of The Exes follows at 10:30pm, followed by season two premiere of The Soul Man at 11pm only on TV Land. BET will return with the second half of the season of The Game on Tuesday, July 2 at 10pm. TBS airs Men at Work Thursdays at 10pm, with Sullivan & Son coming June 13. Nick at Nite has the Scott Baio sitcom See Dad Run every Sunday at 8pm, while Wendell & Vinnie airs Thursdays at 8:30pm. FX's Charlie Sheen sitcom Anger Management also airs Thursdays at 9:30pm. New sitcom airings are the perfect way to beat the summer blues! Look for our daily rundown of what sitcoms are airing each night every day at the bottom of the blog story so you don't miss anything!

Welcome to Digital Digest! We're here with all of your regular weekly features, including a review of Perry Mason - The Final (Ninth) Season, Volume 1. Let's get going!

DIGITAL NEWS

The 2012-2013 seasons of several CBS sitcoms were announced on DVD this week... specifically, the ones that are released by Warner Home Video. Among these are Mike & Molly - The Complete Third Season (August 20), 2 Broke Girls - The Complete Second Season (September 24), and Two and a Half Men - The Complete Tenth Season (September 24). Since we're talking about all of these CBS sitcoms, that does leave a few more questions, such as when we'll see The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Sixth Season (DVD, Blu-ray) . Well, we don't have an answer for that yet, but it goes without saying that it will definitely be coming, and probably in September... but you can go ahead and pre-order it now if you just can't wait.

Of course, not every sitcom in the 2012-2013 season was a hit... but that doesn't mean that there is no hope of seeing the series on DVD. Universal will be releasing the NBC flop Guys with Kids as a MOD title in Guys with Kids - The Complete Series. No word if any of the other NBC "strugglers" from the past season will come as well.

Finally, while we're on the topic of MOD releases, CBS has one coming up on Tuesday that is worthy of being mentioned here: Becker - The Fifth Season. This leaves only one season of the series left to be released.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (June 11) has The Dick Van Dyke - The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray), which has already been seen through the complete series release of the series on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, CBS has their release of Perry Mason - The Final (Ninth) Season, Volume 1, which we have a review of today, and CBS also has their MOD release of Becker - The Fifth Season.


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
 


Blog DVD Review: Perry Mason - The Final (Ninth) Season, Volume 1 (CBS, $45.98)
by skees53

Perry Mason is getting close to resting his case once and for all in Perry Mason - The Final (Ninth) Season, but not quite yet! It has been a long journey of half season releases, but we're finally on the last season of the series on DVD. We're pretty sure that everybody is familiar with who Perry Mason is and what the series is about, but just to briefly recap, the series stars Raymond Burr as Perry Mason, the defense attorney who takes the most difficult cases imaginable, cases that simply cannot be won... and turns them into winning cases against all odds. It was a rather formulaic approach to a series (one that worked very well when the series aired in the 50s and 60s), and the series has gone on to become the de facto standard as the classic legal drama. This four disc set contains the first fifteen episodes of the final season.

This season begins with "The Case of the Laughing Lady," where a woman is accused of murder... but a cackling laugh that she hears may point to the real killer. A successful business woman accepts a marriage proposal from her boss in "The Case of the Fatal Fortune," but he won't be around too long anyway. In "The Case of the Candy Queen," an owner of a company selling low-calorie sweets is accused of murder. A graduate student is accused of murdering an unpopular professor in "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor." Perry gets involved in a crime (inadvertently) in "The Case of the Impetuous Imp." In "The Case of the Carefree Coronary," Perry goes to work for an insurance company to investigate some fraud. A computer dating service leads to marriage in "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner," but the marriage ends in murder, of course. A train fire leads to murder in "The Case of the 12th Bobcat."

In "The Case of the Wrathful Wraith," a widow tends to receive messages from beyond the grave. A race car driver is accused of murdering his business partner in "The Case of the Runaway Racer." In "The Case of the Silent Six," Lt. Drumm asks Perry to defend a cop accused of shooting a man in an act of vengeance. Perry goes abroad to help an expatriate German scientist in "The Case of the Fugitive Fraulein." In "The Case of the Baffling Bug," an espionage investigation uncovers murder. A beautiful hitchhiker knows secrets that could save the partner of a murdered mogul of a men's nightclub empire in "The Case of the Golden Girls" (no, not those Golden Girls). The set ends with "The Case of the Bogus Buccanneers," where door-to-door cosmetic salesmen are all dressed like a TV pirate pitchman... and only one of those pirates knows the secret behind a murder.

1. "The Case of the Laughing Lady" (50:56)
2. "The Case of the Fatal Fortune" (51:57)

3. "The Case of the Candy Queen" (51:57)

4. "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor" (51:55)

5. "The Case of the Impetuous Imp" (51:46)
7. "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner" (51:43)
8. "The Case of the 12th Wildcat" (51:55)

 

10. "The Case of the Runaway Racer" (51:51)
11. "The Case of the Silent Six" (51:46)

13. "The Case of the Baffling Bug" (51:54)
14. "The Case of the Golden Girls" (51:58)

The set is packaged in the typical Viva case, with artwork that is very similar to all of the previous sixteen releases. There is a large color photo of Perry on the cover, and a few snapshots on the back. The four discs inside, of course, have the standard series title on gray artwork. Episode titles, descriptions, and airdates are all printed inside the case.

Just as the packaging is the same as the previous releases, it goes without saying that the menus are identical as well. The main menu lists all of the episodes on the disc, along with a Play All option and a Subtitles option. Once you select the episode, it plays immediately. Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
 

Once again, the video and audio quality on the set is essentially perfect. CBS has done a great job of cleaning this series up, and aside from some very minimal grain and debris, this series almost looks like it could have been filmed just a few years ago (if they were filming in black and white, anyway). The audio is loud and clear, and there are English subtitles for each episode.

After a few brief special features on one of the eighth season releases, we're back to no special features this time.

It has been a long journey of half-season releases to get to this point, and to tell the truth, I never thought that we'd get here. I know that this is a popular series, but this particular set marks the seventeenth "volume" release of the series on DVD... seventeen releases! To put this into perspective, The Simpsons was first released on DVD in season sets (equivalent to the volumes here) twelve years ago, and they have so far only gotten sixteen seasons of that released. What is even better is that the final volume of the series is scheduled for just two months from now, so we'll get to see the series wrap up once and for all and be able to own all 271 episodes... not to mention that these DVDs have been nothing short of perfection in quality. Now, we only have to wait to see if all of the made-for-TV movies from the late 80s and early 90s make it to DVD. There were 26 of these, plus four more made with the Perry Mason title (but without Raymond Burr). These could be potentially released in two or three sets.

By now, you've either been buying the series on DVD or you haven't. If you are a fan of classic legal dramas, then you must have seen this by now. But if for some strange reason you haven't, this is just as good as any other place to start watching the series. The series stayed consistent throughout the seasons and never jumped the shark at all. Perhaps the formulaic nature of the series is why it stayed so consistent, but it is fun to watch all of these episodes on DVD.

(4/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Perry Mason on TV.com


FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Karyn Parsons (Twitter/Facebook), "Mama/Writer/Actress/Producer."
Claim to Fame: Parsons is best known (and, perhaps to many, it is the only thing for which she is known) as the ever so obnoxious Hilary Banks on the NBC series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She has also appeared in a few short-lived series, but her current project is Sweet Blackberry, which is a production studio behind producing animated films about some of the lesser known heroes in black history.
Why You Should Follow Her: I loved discovering the "true Hilary Banks" on Twitter. She is a character that we all loved and remembered, but we somewhat forget about the actress who played that role. When you get to know her on Twitter, you begin to discover that Karyn Parsons is about the complete opposite of Hilary Banks. She is much more intelligent and has a very good grasp upon reality, which is perhaps what made her portrayal of that role even better. What is even more great is how close she is to most of her "family" from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air even to this day, and is proud of her character from that series. By the way, she is a probably a bit more interesting to follow on Facebook than Twitter... even though the feeds are the same, she posts a lot of links and videos, which tend to get lost as a bunch of URLs on many of her Twitter postings.
Pick of the Tweets: " Happy Birthday, to my dear baby bro, Alfonso! I love you!!! http://fb.me/27LO4sbWp" (September 12, 2012)

That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!

Today we have a special "Seven Questions" interview with the very likeable Melissa Rycroft, who of course won Dancing with the Stars: All Stars last fall! Paired with professional dancer Tony Dovolani, Rycroft "waltzed" her way into America's hearts and into a third place finish on season eight of the hit ABC series Dancing with the Stars (and later on the All-Star edition). Soon after she took on co-hosting duties on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin New Year's Eve with Ryan Seacrest for ABC, as well as joined ABC News as a special contributor for Good Morning America, delivering fun and uplifting stories from across the country and from Hollywood's most glamorous red carpets. She has also been a host or reporter for Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, and Bachelor Pad. In the midst of her entertainment career taking off, Rycroft found time to reconnect with the true love of her life, Tye Strickland. In little time the two were married and welcomed daughter Ava Grace to the world. Rycroft first gained fame as a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, appearing on two seasons of CMT's Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. Then she followed with a stint on The Bachelor. She has graced the cover of the People magazine and was featured among their 100 Most Beautiful People of 2009. Rycroft has also been named to Maxim's Hot 100 list. Rycroft graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in marketing and resides in Dallas with Tye and Ava. She had her own CMT reality series last spring called Melissa & Tye, as they packed their bags and moved to L.A.
We talked to her about the Dancing experience obviously, but she is now promoting the launch of the Unconditional Fun Sweepstakes to celebrate the Banana Boat® ultimate fun family! We find out how she got involved with this brand, her experiences on Dancing with the Stars, what she thinks of the Results Show being eliminated next fall and if she has any acting aspirations next. So let's get right to another installment of "Seven Questions!"

"Seven Questions with Melissa Rycroft"



SitcomsOnline: It is so great to finally interview you! We have been a fan and a supporter of yours for quite some time. Hope you remember us and our tweets! Anyway, so glad you have partnered with Energizer Personal Care, the makers of Banana Boat® sunscreen. Can you tell us how you got into this?
Melissa Rycroft: I have always been an active person and was raised in a very athletic family, but since becoming a mom I feel like I've been more active than ever! My family really enjoys being outdoors, and during our family fun time outside, I want to be sure we're protected from the elements. With summer just around the corner, it was the perfect time to partner with Banana Boat® and their Unconditional Fun Sweepstakes to encourage families to get out and experience memorable moments together while protecting their skin from the sun.



SitcomsOnline: So you mentioned there is a sweepstakes portion for Banana Boat® sunscreen as well. How can families enter and what prizes are in store?
Melissa Rycroft: That's right! For seven weeks, Banana Boat® is giving families the opportunity to enter to win summer fun prizes including an outdoor swing set, an inflatable waterpark, and bikes for a family of four; and one family will win the ultimate four-day, three-night family getaway to any of the ten U.S. Great Wolf Lodge® Waterpark Resorts. Families can enter to win by uploading a picture of their family having fun in one of the 7 conditions or simply by clicking “Enter to Win” on the Banana Boat brand Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BananaBoatBrand



SitcomsOnline: Your daughter Ava is really an angel and I can't believe it has been 2 years since she was born! Does she like playing outside in the sun with you and Tye? Using that sunscreen will sure come in handy today in this hot and humid day here in NY. (Note: This interview was conducted last week.)
Melissa Rycroft: Yes! Ava adores being outside in the sun. We love spending time taking family trips to the lake or the beach, or just doing anything outdoors! I also feel like that time outdoors is important not only for building family memories, but also to showing Ava how important a sun protection regimen is to helping keep your skin safe from harmful UV rays. She’s growing up so fast, and I hope that teaching her healthy skin care habits now will give her the tools she needs to continue those habits in the future.



SitcomsOnline: Let's talk Dancing with the Stars for a bit, you were so great on season eight and then in the All-Star edition. I know you never thought you'd win the all-star edition, but we had a feeling you would. Can you share some secrets from behind the scenes of DWTS that many people probably don't know about? It seems like such a fun place.
Melissa Rycroft: Dancing with the Stars: All Stars was really an amazing experience, and it definitely topped my first round on dancing--though that's probably because we won! All around it was a great experience. The cast became so close, rehearsals became fun rather than a chore, and I had a blast with Tony!

SitcomsOnline: Which stars do you think should hit the dance floor on the upcoming fall season?
Melissa Rycroft: You know, I would recommend Dancing with the Stars to anyone and everyone that is considering joining the cast; it's such a fantastic experience and not one I will ever forget – plus it gets you in incredible shape! I won't name names, but I can certainly think of a number of people that I would personally love to see hit the floor!



SitcomsOnline: What is your take on the Dancing Results Show being eliminated this fall? How do you think they will handle the elimination process now on the performance show itself? It sounds action-packed!
Melissa Rycroft: I think there are lots of viewers that look forward to the results show (and I know I did as a contestant!), but there will still be two full seasons next year and it will give the competitors more time to train for their dances and competition. As for how they will handle the elimination process moving forward? I guess we'll all have to tune in and watch!



SitcomsOnline: Finally, what's coming up next for Melissa Rycroft? Any more GMA correspondent stories or another series? You need to be on TV every day. Frankly, we think you have the charisma and charm to star in a sitcom...any acting aspirations? Thank you for your time and hope we can actually meet one day!
Melissa Rycroft: Thank you! To be honest, right now I'm enjoying my family time. Summer is definitely the best time to take a few months off and relax with loved ones. We'll see what's in store in the future, but right now my focus is on family.



We definitely appreciate Melissa for taking the time to give us an interview to promote Banana Boat® and their Unconditional Fun Sweepstakes. She is so very nice and don't forget to enter the sweepstakes for your chance to win! 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 Melissa Rycroft all over the web and social media. Follow her everywhere!

• Melissa Rycroft Official Website
• Melissa Rycroft on Twitter
• Melissa Rycroft on Facebook
• Melissa Rycroft on Instagram
• Banana Boat Website

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 June 10-14, 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, June 10, 2013

• Alyssa Milano (Who's the Boss?) - Alyssa joins Clinton Kelly and Mario Batali in the kitchen to make pasta primavera mascarpone ravioli on The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

• Kevin James (The King of Queens), Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris), David Spade (Rules of Engagement) and Adam Sandler - The cast of Grown Ups 2 are guests on a prime time special Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night at 8pm/7pm ET/CT and following the NBA game on the west coast on ABC.
• Jamie Foxx (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Watch Jamie on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Nick Robinson (Melissa & Joey) - Nick stops by The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. The Kings of Summer is now in theaters.
• Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) - Chris appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development/The Larry Sanders Show/The Ropers) - Jeffrey visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom) - Judith drops by LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry recommends outdoor activities for children on Katie, so check your local listings.
• Erin Murphy (Bewitched) - Erin shares how she is now conducting animal therapy at her ranch on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

• Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Watch Valerie on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Mark Feuerstein (Good Morning, Miami) - Mark appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• James Van Der Beek (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James is a guest on a repeat of Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
• John Stamos (Full House/Jake in Progress) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He will also be on NBC's Today between 7-9am.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Catch Betty on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Seinfeld) - Tune in to see Julia on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Jay Baruchel (Undeclared) - Jay appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Leo Howard (Kickin' It/Shake It Up) - Leo is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• The Cast of Sullivan & Son - The cast of TBS' Sullivan & Son are guests on Home & Family at 10am on Hallmark Channel.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Scott Baio (See Dad Run/Charles in Charge/Happy Days) - Scott discusses discusses his time portraying the beloved Chachi on Happy Days and how being a dad in real life has helped him play a TV dad in his latest show on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.

Friday, June 14, 2013

• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Watch Cedric on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC. He will also be on Katie, so check your local listings.
• Niecy Nash (The Soul Man/Reno 911!) - Niecy appears on Katie, so check your local listings.
• Matthew Perry (Go On/Mr. Sunshine/Friends) - Matthew guest co-hosts a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• John Stamos (Full House/Jake in Progress) - John will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

One of television's most acclaimed comedies of all-time joins TVGN's (TV Guide Network) daytime line-up this summer with daily weekday episodes. That sitcom is Cheers and it will air beginning Monday, June 17, 2013 and air from 11:00AM-1:00PM ET/PT and 5:00–7:00PM ET/PT. To locate TVGN on cable or satellite, viewers can visit www.tvgn.tv for a channel finder. Leading up to the premiere, TVGN will air a one-hour original special The Cast of Cheers: Where Are They Now? on Monday, June 10 at 9:00PM ET/PT. The special catches up with the all-star cast including Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, Shelley Long, Kristie Alley, Rhea Perlman and many more, to see what they have been up to since they left their barstools behind. For a preview of The Cast of Cheers: Where Are They Now?, view the video clip below.

Back to the TVGN schedule, Cheers will replace an hour of Cybill and originals from 11am-1pm, while the 5-7pm block is replacing an hour each of Designing Women and Who's the Boss? The schedule will now be Ugly Betty still from 9-11am, Cheers from 11am-1pm, specials at 1pm, Designing Women from 2pm-4pm, Who's the Boss? 4-5pm, Cheers from 5-7pm, and more Who's the Boss? from 7-8pm. As of now, it looks like Cybill and Early Edition will be off the schedule. The network will add same day runs of Young & the Restless soon to weekdays at 7pm but first the special The Young & the Restless On-Set: inFANity will premiere Monday, June 17 at 9pm. Stay with us for updates.

Cheers will actually launch with a marathon prior to its June 17 regular schedule debut. On Saturday, June 15 from 12:00 Noon–8:00PM ET/PT, viewers can tune-in for "Cliff Notes," an eight-hour marathon of back-to-back fan favorite episodes hosted by John Ratzenberger, who of course played the role of Cliff Clavin on Cheers. John reminisces about his time on the long-running sitcom with insider stories and fun facts about the show. If you don't know, Cheers focuses on the colorful staff and off-beat patrons of a friendly Boston bar owned by a former Red Sox pitcher where "everybody knows your name." The sitcom starred Ted Danson as Sam Malone, Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe, Nick Colasanto as Coach, Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, George Wendt as Norm, John Ratzenberger as Cliff, Woody Harrelson as Woody and Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane. The sitcom will continue to air on the other networks it airs on (Hallmark Channel, ReelzChannel TV and USA Network).

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has closed a deal to star in the FX Networks comedy series pilot, Death Pact, from Rob Long and Tad Safran. Production of the single-camera, half-hour pilot episode will take place this summer in New York or New Jersey. Death Pact was co-created by Rob Long (Sullivan & Son, Cheers) and Tad Safran (The Long Weekend), who also serve as Executive Producers/Writers. Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men and the new CBS comedy We Are Men) of the Tannenbaum Company are Executive Producers. Death Pact is produced by FX Productions. In Death Pact, Morgan stars as a formerly lazy, pot-dealing assistant high school coach, who returns to his hometown as a decorated war hero. He runs across three down-on-their-luck friends and former students and sucks them into his new radical self-help philosophy, which involves harsh consequences for failure. Stay with us for continued updates and if this series gets picked-up to series or not. Right now it is just a pilot.

WGN America has ordered the drama series Salem from award-winning producers Brannon Braga (24, Star Trek: TNG, Voyager & Enterprise) and Adam Simon. The series hails from Fox 21 (Homeland, Sons of Anarchy), the prolific cable production division of Twentieth Century Fox Television, and marks the first original scripted series for WGN America as it begins to aggressively expand its programming slate. Set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts, Salem explores what really fueled the town's infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In Salem, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem – and an even bolder new vision of witches.

WGN America has ordered 13 episodes entering production this fall in for a 2014 premiere. The series was created and written by Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, who will serve as executive producers alongside Prospect Park's Josh Barry and Jeff Kwatinetz. The series will be produced by Fox 21. Stay with us for continued updates and maybe soon an original sitcom will make its way to WGN America in the future?




On the next...Baby Daddy:
By: Pavan

ABC Family's New Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring an ensemble young cast lead by Jean-Luc Bilodeau and Chelsea Kane, airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm and we have just the next episode that airs tonight (June 5). And it's a Kyle XY reunion with Matt Dallas guest starring! In the episode airing tonight, "There's Something Fitchy Going On," Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) discovers a shocking secret about Riley's (Chelsea Kane) new beau, Fitch (guest star Matt Dallas, Kyle XY), and tries to warn her. Meanwhile, Bonnie (Melissa Peterman) accidentally sends a revealing message from Danny (Derek Theler) to Riley's cell phone. Things heat up between Danny and his new model girlfriend, Milena, and Tucker (Tahj Mowry) pounces on an opportunity to shine with his boss, Chase (guest star Wayne Brady).

What the "fitch" is going on? Last week on the season premiere we ended the episode with Riley meeting a new guy at a law firm party and both Ben and Danny were too late. We continue that arc in this episode but it doesn't seem it is literally right away because Riley and Fitch have started a relationship. It's probably at least a few days or a week after the law firm party, we're guessing. It's unclear but the episode is still good. We have a lot of laughs and a lot of crazy antics. Obviously the main storyline is for Riley and Fitch and what Ben thinks about it and what he will do. Ben learns a secret about Fitch by accidentally seeing something he shouldn't have seen (a classic sitcom device). Is Fitch really a good guy? We also have a comical storyline with Danny and Bonnie regarding Riley's cell phone. He left her a voicemail by accident and they try to get a hold of Riley's phone before she sees it. Will they succeed? It's a lot of fun. And the final storyline is with Tucker and his new "hands-on" celebrity boss Chase. Wayne Brady is very funny as Chase and he can't keep his hands off of women. Looks like we might see more of him, but in this episode we don't have much of him.



Riley is going to be torn again by love by the end of the episode. It always turns out that it is something that you think would never happen. Matt Dallas is great as the "perfect" Fitch. Hopefully we see more of him this season. This episode is more fun than last week's premiere but I don't think it has good as the premiere. This episode is more silly fun but we need that on sitcoms. It makes them more fun and these multi-camera sitcoms do that. Like I said before, this is a Boy Meets World style show and I could definitely see all of these plotlines for this episode on that show. I think Bonnie gets more funnier with each episode, as Melissa Peterman plays her perfectly. It's another great episode and the story arc continues! It's the "Life of Riley" and who is going to win her over? B+

Four decade-themed classic TV networks could be coming in 2014, if all goes well. The four decades that will be of focus are the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s. Longtime TV executive Garth Ancier and now head of Zeus Media Partners, is pitching this and he's brought industry veterans Diane Robina, Alan Goodman and Michael Ross along to help. Robina and Goodman were formerly of TV Land back in the late '90s. These four networks will be actual cable networks and not over-the-air digital stations like Antenna TV and MeTV Network. They will be free to cable, satellite and telco TV operators and supported by advertising. Zeus Media Partners plans to launch these four networks around this time next year (second quarter 2014). Ancier is looking to create something like how Sirius XM's satellite radio channels that are grouped by decade, but for television and TV series. The company is in preliminary talks with all major studios like CBS Paramount, Sony Pictures Television, 20th Century Fox, MGM, NBC, Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. and Carsey Werner for programming options. Zeus is not looking to obtain exclusive cable rights to any of these programs, so you can expect most of these shows to be run on multiple networks on cable. Among the shows Ancier said he is looking to obtain are Three's Company (currently licensed by TV Land but on hiatus) and Lost in Space (airs on digital station MeTV), since they are not airing much right now.

There is still a very long way to go but this is a good start. We will of course bring you any future news updates on this, so stay with us. It would be good to see some shows that haven't been aired in a while as well, such as One Day at a Time, Alice, Welcome Back Kotter, Webster and Small Wonder, in addition to the major stuff like Three's Company and Good Times. No programming has been officially announced of course since it is just preliminary talks, but anything could be possible! Stay tuned! Sound off on Facebook and tell us what shows you would like to see from the '60s-90s!

USA Network has greenlit a new original half hour comedy pilot with an order for Divide & Conquer from executive producer and writer Peter Ocko (The Office, Pushing Daisies). The news comes on the heels of the network's first comedy series pickups for Sirens and Playing House and another pilot order for Love is Dead, as we all announced before. The network's first original comedies are slated to premiere in first quarter 2014, following the launch of the award-winning and top-rated comedy off-network reruns of Modern Family, on USA on Tuesday, September 24 at 8/7c.

Divide & Conquer is a family comedy about love, support, attention and all the other things parents do to mess up their kids. In a world where failure is the new F-word, and normal is the new stupid, Ben and Charlotte are just hoping their kids make it out of the house someday. Divide & Conquer gets into the heads of a big family: four children finding their way to adulthood in these complicated times, and the parents whose lives they're sucking dry to get there. Written and executive produced by Ocko, the pilot is from Universal Cable Productions. Stay with us for continued updates and if this series is ordered to series with Sirens and Playing House.

NickMom welcomes the acclaimed family comedy series The New Adventures of Old Christine (88 episodes) to its primetime line-up under a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The half-hour series stars Emmy(R) Award-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) as Christine Campbell who attempts to juggle the daily stresses of motherhood and business. The series will regularly air weeknights 11pm-12am and 1-2am (ET/PT) and weekends from 10pm-12am (ET/PT) effective immediately during the NickMom programming block on the Nick Jr. channel. The New Adventures of Old Christine will be replacing Yes, Dear on weeknights, but Yes, Dear will remain airing on weekends from 12-2am following Old Christine. Meanwhile, Old Christine will remain airing on its other cable homes of Lifetime (now just 8am on weekdays) and on WGN America (late nights 4-5am).

Recent additions to the NickMom schedule include the docu-comedy series Take Me To Your Mother starring comic Andrea Rosen. NickMom also recently picked up second seasons of the stand-up comedy series NickMom Night Out (23 episodes) hosted by The View's Sherri Shepherd, talk show Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor (20 episodes) and sitcom Instant Mom (13 episodes), the block's first original scripted comedy series, starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict. We'll give more info on the latter soon. Stay with us for continued updates on NickMom and Old Christine!

Television, film and stage actress Jean Stapleton, best known for her role as Edith Bunker in All in the Family, has died. She died, surrounded by family and friends, on May 31 in New York City of natural causes. Ms. Stapleton was 90.

Stapleton's career began in 1941 in summer stock theater at the Greenwood Playhouse in Peaks Island, Maine. She made her New York debut in the Off-Broadway play American Gothic. Her early appearances on Broadway in musicals and plays included Damn Yankees, Bells Are Ringing, Rhinoceros and Funny Girl. Stapleton's early television work included roles in Starlight Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Woman with a Past, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Dr. Kildare, The Doctors and the Nurses, Naked City, The Eleventh Hour and Route 66. In 1962, she guest starred in an episode of The Defenders with her future television husband Carroll O'Connor. Her 1960s sitcom guest appearances included Dennis the Menace, Car 54, Where Are You?, My Three Sons and The Patty Duke Show.

Stapleton auditioned for the role of Edith after creator Norman Lear saw her perform with a nasal tone in Damn Yankees. Two pilots were shot for ABC in 1968 and 1969, but both were turned down. CBS developed All in the Family with the final cast of Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers. The series premiered on January 12, 1971. The highly successful series ran for 9 seasons and 208 episodes from 1971 to 1979. Stapleton appeared as Edith Bunker in all but 4 episodes of the series. O'Connor and Stapleton performed the show's opening theme song, Those Were the Days. She received eight Emmy nominations and won three times in 1971, 1972 and 1978. She also won two Golden Globes for Best Actress in 1972 and 1974. After All in the Family ended in 1979, the spin-off series Archie Bunker's Place ran for four seasons. Stapleton appeared in a recurring role in the first season before she decided to leave the series in late 1979. It was mentioned in the one-hour second season premiere episode that Edith had died of a stroke. CBS aired the All in the Family 20th Anniversary Special on February 16, 1991. Stapleton reunited with O'Connor on Donny & Marie on April 24, 2000.

After tiring of the role and leaving Archie Bunker's Place in 1979, she continued to work in television, film and plays. She appeared as a British spy named Lady Emily Farnsworth in two episodes of Scarecrow and Mrs. King in 1984. She played the Giantess and Fairy Godmother in two episodes of Faerie Tale Theatre in 1983 and 1985. In 1986, she appeared in The Love Boat. She co-starred with Whoopi Goldberg in the 1990-1991 CBS sitcom Bagdad Cafe. Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included Grace Under Fire (Emmy nominated), Caroline in the City, Murphy Brown, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Style & Substance. Her television movie and film credits included Eleanor, First Lady of the World (Emmy nominated), Something's Afoot, Michael, Chance of a Lifetime (with John Ritter and Katey Sagal) and You've Got Mail.

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with her on November 28, 2000. Survivors include her two children, actor and director John Putch and actress Pamela Putch, and several grandchildren. Her husband of 26 years, William Putch, died of a heart attack in 1983.

Edith Bunker was such an amazing and iconic television character. Ms. Stapleton played the beloved character to perfection. She was a great talent. We thank her for bringing us many laughs over the years. She will be deeply missed.

Share your memories of Jean Stapleton on our All in the Family message board. View photos in our All in the Family and other photo galleries. Writer Jerry Barmash has posted a nice tribute on his Tuned In blog, please read.

Antenna TV will have a 12 hour marathon of All in the Family celebrating the life of Jean Stapleton tomorrow (June 4), starting at 3pm ET. They will also be airing her guest appearance in a 1962 episode of Dennis the Menace at 2:30pm ET.

Summer has now started with this past week being the first full week of the summer season. We will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long! Here are our summer ratings:

• The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted for NASCAR.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted for NASCAR.
• Bob's Burgers (Fox) - preempted for NASCAR.
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted for NASCAR.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted for NASCAR.

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat on Memorial Day did 3.54 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from last year on Memorial Day.
• Raising Hope (Fox) - A repeat at 8pm did just 1.76 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, but that was on par in 18-49 with previous week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A repeat of this comedy did 3.6 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating.
• The Goodwin Games (Fox) - A brand new episode at 8:30pm did only 1.37 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week which was its series premiere.  Not good though.
• 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A repeat did 4.3 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating. Since it was Memorial Day, not much to worry about.
• New Girl (Fox) - A repeat at 9 did 1.34 million and  0.6 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 with previous week. It doesn't repeat well for an anchor, though.
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - 4.7 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating for a repeat was the best of the block and this sitcom is benched until mid-season next season. Go figure.
• The Mindy Project (Fox) - A repeat at 9:30 did only 1.25 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, but yes also on par in 18-49 with previous week. I mean it can't get any lower right?

• The Office (NBC) - A special encore of the series finale at 10pm did 2.47 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating following an original episode of The Voice.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• The Middle (ABC) - The first summer repeat of the season did 4.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, off two tenths in 18-49 from the first repeat last summer.
• Family Tools (ABC) - A new episode at 8:30pm did 3.66 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating for a series low obviously.
• Modern Family (ABC) - Its first repeat of the summer did 4.74 million and a 1.4 rating, off a tenth in 18-49 from last summer's first repeat.
• How To Live With Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life) (ABC) - A new episode at 9:30pm did 4.12 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired following original episodes. But it held 100% of its lead-in at least.

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A repeat at 8 did 9.25 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with the previous week. Nice. Should stay above a 2 all summer.
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - The delayed season finale finally aired and did 8.01 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, for obviously a series low since it aired on a special night and following a repeat.
• Save Me (NBC) 2 episodes - The first all-new episode did just 2.66 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's premiere. A second episode followed with just 2.26 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, also down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9 did just 1.8 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, but actually up a tenth in 18-49 week-to-week. 
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 1.78 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating for the best of the block actually and built from its lead-in for the second straight week.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Fox Animation Domination from 7-10pm.

Summing it up. Repeats of The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as repeats of Modern Family, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as  repeats of New Girl and new airings of The Goodwin Games, Save Me).



Feeling the repeat blues? Look for original sitcoms on TV this summer. Some highlights include: Mondays at 8:30pm on Fox will be original episodes of The Goodwin Games at 8:30pm and a brand new episode of the FX sitcom Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen Mondays at 9:30pm on Fox the next two weeks. ABC has original episodes of Family Tools on Wednesdays at 8:30pm and How To Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) on Wednesdays at 9:30pm through the end of June. Lastly on broadcast, NBC has back-to-back episodes of Save Me on Thursdays starting at 8pm. Week two of the new season for hilarious cable sitcoms Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy is this Wednesday beginning at 8pm on ABC Family. Look for our review of Baby Daddy's episode on Wednesday afternoon! TV Land will launch the summer season of Hot in Cleveland with a LIVE episode on Wednesday, June 19 at 10pm. The season premiere of The Exes follows at 10:30pm, followed by season two premiere of The Soul Man at 11pm only on TV Land. BET will return with the second half of the season of The Game on Tuesday, July 2 at 10pm. TBS airs Men at Work Thursdays at 10pm, with Sullivan & Son coming June 13. Nick at Nite has the Scott Baio sitcom See Dad Run every Sunday at 8pm, while Wendell & Vinnie airs Thursdays at 8:30pm. FX's Charlie Sheen sitcom Anger Management also airs Thursdays at 9:30pm. New sitcom airings are the perfect way to beat the summer blues! Look for our daily rundown of what sitcoms are airing each night every day at the bottom of the blog story so you don't miss anything!

Welcome to Digital Digest! This week, we've got reviews of Wilfred - The Complete Original Series (the Australian version of the FX series) and Pretty Little Liars - The Complete Third Season. Let's get rolling!

DIGITAL NEWS

"Well, good Lord!" TVShowsOnDVD.com delivered what may be one of the biggest sitcom surprises on DVD in a long time this week as they discovered pre-order listings for both of the first two seasons of Mama's Family on Amazon.com. Of course, several years ago, Warner Home Video brought us Mama's Family - The Complete First Season (which turned out to be a rather disappointing release with syndicated versions episodes). As for the pre-order listings for the first two seasons they have since been removed... but TVShowsOnDVD.com did a little bit of further investigation and found that, in fact, Time-Life is not only going to release the first two seasons, but actually the entire series! And it gets better... the episodes will be uncut versions of the series (not seen since the original run of the series) along with plenty of special features. There is no date set or any details given for this set yet, but this is one that we'll be watching VERY closely.

That isn't all that Time-Life has planned, though! TVShowsOnDVD.com reports that they've got a little bit more of the series that Mama's Family was a spinoff of, with a release of The Carol Burnett Show - Christmas with Carol. The release will come October 1, and will feature two full episodes of the series, along with sketches from 1967 and 1968 Christmas episodes of the series. We'll have more on this once we know more.

Amazon.com has been testing out some new pilots lately, as they want to get into the game of airing their own original series for Prime members. They presented some of their own original pilots, and viewers had the opportunity to choose which one they wanted to see made into a series... and now we have the results! The winners are Alpha House, Betas, Annebots, Creative Galaxy, and Tumbleaf. While the last three are children's series, the first two are comedies. Alpha House is a comedy series that comes from Doonesbury creator Gary Trudeau, and is a political series about four U.S. Senators (one of them played by John Goodman) living together in one house. Betas follows four friends and their attempt to strike it rich with a new mobile social networking app.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW Tuesday (June 4) has one sitcom release, but it is only a "best of" release with McHale's Navy - 20 Timeless Episodes. Other releases include Wilfred - The Complete Original Series and Pretty Little Liars - The Complete Third Season, both of which are reviewed today in Digital Digest.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
 


Blog DVD Review: Wilfred - The Complete Original Series (Fabulous Films, $39.98)
by skees53

Jason Gann has become one of America's favorite "human dogs" in the FX hit series Wilfred, but before that, he played that same role in the Australian series that the U.S. series was adapted from. No, there is no Elijah Wood in this series, but in this series, Wilfred (Gann) is joined by Adam (Australian actor and series co-creator Adam Zwar) as Adam sees Wilfred as a man in a dog suit... something that the rest of the world doesn't see! This four disc set, from Fabulous Films (and marketed by Shout! Factory), includes all sixteen episodes from both seasons of the series.

The series begins quite a bit differently from the U.S. version, with the episode "There is a Dog," where Adam is invited back to Sarah's (Cindy Waddingham) place after a concert, and is introduced to Wilfred... a dog that he sees as a man dressed as a dog. In "Dog Day Afterglow," where Sarah convinces Adam that she and Wilfred come as a package, and he must learn to love Wilfred. Wilfred and Adam are at war with one another in "Dogs of War." A trip to the beach goes wrong for Adam in "Walking the Dog." In "The Dog Whisperer," Wilfred's behavior problems demand the attention of a reality TV veterinarian. An old friend of Sarah's shows up in "Dog Eat Dog," and Wilfred has a reason to be worried! Wilfred ends up in trouble in "Barking Behind Bars," and Adam isn't going to help. Sarah and Adam are on the splits in the first season finale "This Dog's Life."

In "Kiss Me Kat," Adam decides to ask Sarah to marry him... if Wilfred will let him. In the two-part episode "Dog of a Town," Adam gets to meet Sarah's parents (who happen to be nudists), and Wilfred confronts his father... and subsequently runs away. Wilfred ends up in rehab in "Honey, You're Killing the Dog." Wilfred has... well, performance problems... when he meets a Swedish dog in "The Ice Dog Cometh." Wilfred's latest girlfriend is expecting in "The Dog Father." In "Dog Star," Wilfred decides that he wants to be in commercials, and wants Adam to be his manager. The series ends with "Bite Club," where Wilfred decides to help Adam earn money... by putting himself into an illegal dog fight.

The episodes appear to be unedited, with runtimes are as follows:

Disc 1:
1. "There is a Dog" (25:03)
2. "The Dog Day Afterglow" (23:44)
3. "Dogs of War" (25:02)
4. "Walking the Dog" (24:02)

Disc 2:
5. "The Dog Whisperer" (24:09)
6. "Dog Eat Dog" (24:46)
7. "Barking Behind Bars" (24:44)
8. "This Dog's Life" (23:28)

Disc 3:
9. "Kiss Me Kat" (24:50)
10. "Dog of a Town (Part 1)" (24:06)
11. "Dog of a Town (Part 2)" (24:18)
12. "Honey, You're Killing the Dog" (24:41)

Disc 4:
13. "The Ice Dog Cometh" (23:41)
14. "The Dog Father" (24:41)
15. "Dog Star" (24:43)
16. "Bite Club" (25:05)

The DVD is packaged in a standard four disc Amaray case. The cover has a cast photo, while there are several episode snapshots and a description of the series on the back. Inside, the four discs all have the same artwork as seen on the cover. There is also an episode booklet included inside the case, that includes some very lengthy descriptions for each episode... unfortunately, there are some very bad typos and other issues in here. But you can still get the general idea of what each one is about.

The menus on the set are very nice. The main menu has a series of video clips playing from the episodes, along with the closing music from the series. From the main menu, there is a list of all of the episodes, along with a Play All option and a Special Features option (except on Disc 3). Once you select an episode, you get an episode menu that allows you to either play the episode or view the Stills Gallery for the episode.

The video and audio quality on these episodes is pretty good, which is great for a series that originated in another country. Often, there are frame rate issues that pop up, but Fabulous Films has a tendency to understand these issues that DVDs have when going from one country to another. Unfortunately, the episodes are neither closed-captioned nor subtitled.

There are a few special features on the set. First, there are photo galleries for each episode on the set. On Disc 1, there are several short outtakes, along with a trailer for the first season. (4:10). On Disc 2, there is a pair of crew montages about the first season (7:08) featuring Gann and Zwar. Finally, on Disc 4, we have "Making Of" (28:22), which is a nice behind-the-scenes documentary of the series with the cast and crew, "Wilfred Bites" (6:58), which is just a compilation reel from the series, and finally more outtakes and bloopers (5:44). While few of the special features really jumped out at me as being extraordinary, it is nice to see the effort that was made on here. It seems that Fabulous Films always does a decent job in this area.

I had never seen this version of the series prior to this release, but in watching it, I have to say that I enjoy it just as much as the American version. They aren't really the "same" series at all, especially considering how different the character of Adam is from Ryan in the US series, yet they both have the same common idea of a man in a dog suit that the rest of the world sees as just an ordinary dog. There is one thing that should be said about this series, though: some of the language and dialog is much stronger than in the FX series (there is even a disclaimer about "very strong language" on the back), so be prepared not only for some of that, but also for nudity. If you're a fan of the American series, I'd strongly encourage picking up this series. Even though I've seen all of the episodes of that one that have aired so far, I still felt like I was getting something new out of this. It is kind of a shame that this is all we'll ever get to see out of this version of the series, but at least it had the chance to go out on top (as nearly all British and Australian series do), and we have a chance to see them all in this set.

(4/5 stars)

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

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Wilfred (Australia) on TV.com


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
 


Blog DVD Review: Pretty Little Liars - The Complete Third Season (Warner, $59.98)
by Pavan

Never trust a pretty girl with a dirty secret, but trust us that Pretty Little Liars is back on DVD with The Complete Third Season! The popular ABC Family original drama series starring Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, and Troian Bellisario all return for 24 more episodes in the buzzed-about third season on this five-disc DVD set from Warner Home Video just in time for the fourth season premiere on ABC Family (June 11). As the third season begins, a summer has passed since Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer found out about Mona being "A" and the death of Maya. With the terror seemingly over and an alleged murderer now behind bars, the town of Rosewood is slowly healing from old and new wounds. Find out what will happen next because there is always something going on in Rosewood!

The third season stars Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings, Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin, Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery, Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields, Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis, Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery, Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz, Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh, Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers, Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwall, Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin, and Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery. However, there are many recurring stars such as Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis, Cody Allen Christian as Mike Montgomery, Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn, Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings, Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds, Julian Morris as Wren Kingston, Nia Peeples as Pam Fields, Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman, Lindsay Shaw as Paige, Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden, Amanda Schull as Meredith, Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake, Sterling Sulieman as Lyndon James/"Nate St. Germain," Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings and Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall. The first half of the third season aired in summer 2012, while the second half aired in the winter of 2013, similar to the the previous two seasons. For this season we got two halves of 12 and 11 episodes each, and also a another special Halloween episode in between. The series returns Tuesday, June 11 for its fourth season and it leaves off where the intense and shocking third season finale left off. Tune in Tuesdays at 8/7c for the fourth season all-summer long on ABC Family!

Anyway, as for this set, there are many memorable episodes in this shocking and revealing season. In the season premiere, "It Happened 'That Night'," Emily goes missing one night at a slumber party at Spencer's and the girls find Emily at the graveyard who doesn't remember a thing other than getting wasted, while Hanna secretly begins visiting Mona at Radley. In "Kingdom of the Blind," Spencer's mom decides to take Garrett as a client, but Spencer is convinced that her mother only agreed to do this by force and after she begins to investigate, her suspicions are not confirmed and she comes across a bigger Hastings family secret. In "Stolen Kisses," Emily tries to figure out what happened the night she was drugged and also tries to fix things with Paig, while Ezra's mom gives insight into Ezra's past to Aria, as Spencer and Caleb hack a website for Mona and Hanna also tries to help out. On the mid-season finale, "The Lady Killer," Maya's trial gets underway, and Emily can't stand the media attention, as "A" then extends a branch to the girls, who are skeptical and someone close to the girls betrays them. On the mid-season premiere, "She's Better Now," Mona is released from the sanitarium and returns to school, but she faces an uphill battle in which she must prove to Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer that she has transformed and can be trusted. In "Misery Loves Company," Aria is down for the count when sidelined by the flu, so Hanna and Emily are on their own to follow up on a new clue, but surprisingly, Meredith steps up to help take care of Aria while her father is away, but when it starts to look like Meredith may have ulterior motives to her nursing Aria back to health, Hanna and Emily turn their attention towards saving their friend. In "Dead to Me," now that Ali's remains are back with her family, the DiLaurentis' are set to bury her again, giving Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer another opportunity to say goodbye to their friend, but with everything that has gone on since Ali's disappearance, the girls are divided about going to yet another memorial. In "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted," when dealing with matters of the heart, people react in many different ways: still crushed over her break-up, Spencer continues her downward spiral as she now takes her anger and hurt out on Mona, but Caleb, on the other hand, hides his pain by being closed off when discussing his father, a sHanna devises a plan to bring father and son back together, will that help Caleb heal old wounds or just make things harder and Aria, who is still missing Ezra, finds she is spending more time with Wes. In "I'm Your Puppet," as "A" continues to play games, the stakes are raised higher as each girl is forced into difficult positions: Aria starts to seriously contemplate her relationship with Ezra as his new family situation continues to eat away at her, while Hanna is thrown into the middle of Caleb's family drama when Jamie's shady past comes back to haunt him, and Emily is determined to prove Spencer wrong in hopes of helping her, but she might not be ready for what she finds. And on the shocking season finale " A dAngerous gAme," Spencer is back home and presenting a good front, but Aria, Hanna and Emily are not so sure their friend is fully back after seeing how fragile she was just a day or so before, but unfortunately the girls don't have much time to ponder Spencer's health as shocking revelations are brought to the forefront, as with so much happening and new information being uncovered, will the Liars be ready for what is waiting for them?

Episodes are usually around 44 minutes and unedited, as they should be (the finale for some reason ran shorter than every other episode). It's cool to see a show at 44 minutes these days. Runtimes are below:

Disc 1:
1. "It Happened 'That Night'" (44:23)
2. "Blood is the New Black" (44:23)
3. "Kingdom of the Blind" (44:22)
4. "Birds of a Feather" (44:25)
5. "That Girl is Poison" (44:13)

Disc 2:
6. "The Remains of the 'A'" (44:22)
7. "Crazy" (44:22)
8. "Stolen Kisses" (44:20)
9. "The Kahn Game" (44:11)
10. "What Lies Beneath" (44:10)

Disc 3:
11. "Single Fright Female" (44:13)
12. "The Lady Killer" (44:11)
13. "This is a Dark Ride" - Halloween episode (44:19)
14. "She's Better Now" (44:19)
15. "Mona-Mania" (44:14)

Disc 4:
16. "Misery Loves Company" (44:21)
17. "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno" (43:55)
18. "Dead To Me" (44:20)
19. "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted" (44:23)
20. "Hot Water" (44:20)

Disc 5:
21. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" (44:21)
22. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" (44:22)
23. "I'm Your Puppet" (44:19)
24. "A dAngerous gAme" (42:52)

The set comes in an outer box holding a keep case inside, like previous sets. The artwork is the same on the front side for both with artwork of the four girls sitting on a couch in an A background. Time to bring your A game, as the tagline says at the bottom of the cover! The back of both the box and case have info on the series and set and another shot of the girls walking and there is another A letter background. We also have four episodic images and a list of special features. Ashley Benson is quite a catch, isn't she? When we open the case, we have some inserts again on the left side. We have an ad insert promoting all-new episodes on ABC Family this summer and to download season four from your favorite digital retailer. The other insert is a nice episode booklet! It is nicely designed again and filled with great episodic photos and a great shot of the girls in jeans wear on the front. We have a disc-by-disc breakdown with episode number, title, writer, director, original airdate and of course a synopsis. There is a little scissor image also if there are any deleted scenes available for that episode. The last page has a nice credit list of all the series regulars. This is similar to the previous set.

Anyway back to the case, we have two plastic holders that we can flip like a book in the middle and they each hold two discs, with the first disc on the front and the second disc on the back. So that covers four discs, but the last disc is on the right panel itself. The disc artwork is simple. We have a different colors on each disc along with a huge A letter, the show logo and disc number. Simple, but effective. However, for the second straight set there is no artwork at all on the panels itself. Disappointing, as we wanted to see more cool artwork like on the first season packaging. More Ashley Benson, the better!

The menu design is good and uses the same artwork as the cover art but it is more of a wide shot and we see more, similar to the previous sets. It's a nice brownish color scheme. We have no auto trailers this time before the main menu on disc one, so that's good. Unfortunately once again there is no music playing in the background on the main menu, which is disappointing as this show has a good theme. The menu options are Play All, Episodes, Deleted Scenes, Special Features and Languages. The artwork for all the submenus are good. Languages features audio in English but you can have subtitles in English, French, Espanol, or Thai. Deleted Scenes option doesn't have a submenu, so it just plays them automatically. Episodes option lists the episode numbers on a little TV screen image, episode titles, and if there is a deleted scene for that episode you can watch it by highlighting the scissor image. I think you're better off watching the deleted scenes through the episodes menu than the deleted scenes option itself so you know which episode the deleted scene was intended for. And Special Features option is only on discs three and five and it lists all the non-deleted scenes extras that we have.

Video and audio quality are both outstanding once again on these DVDs. That is no surprise, but we should still be glad that everything is so crisp and clear. It is HD like quality, even if this isn't a Blu-ray set. So there is nothing much to say here except it is like how you watch it on ABC Family HD, especially if your DVD player upconverts to HD. Each episode has 9 chapter stops, so you can easily find scenes if you are going back. We get to see the full closing credits, too, something that we don't see on ABC Family but if you watch the series on their website, you see these closing credits. I love how we get 44 minutes per episode, as broadcast shows are usually 42-43 minutes these days. We certainly get more content on ABC Family and it seems this season is even longer than previous seasons!

There are special features and nearly all of them are on disc five. The previous four discs have deleted scenes, similar to the previous releases. These are always nice to see. Disc one has two deleted scene from the episode "Blood is the New Black" (1:26). Disc two has a deleted scene from the episode "The Remains of the 'A'" (0:38), two deleted scenes from the episode "Stolen Kisses" (2:25), one deleted scene from "The Kahn Game" (0:30) and a deleted scene from the episode "What Lies Beneath" (1:07). On to disc three, we have a deleted scene from the episode "Single Fright Female" (1:05), a deleted scene from the episode "The Lady Killer" (1:09), a deleted scene from the episode "She's Better Now" (0:34) and a deleted scene from episode "Mona-Mania" (1:27). For disc four we have a deleted scene for "Dead to Me" (1:08). And finally on disc five, we have a deleted scene for the episode "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" (1:42). That's 11 episodes with deleted scenes and a total of 13 deleted scenes! So, that's down from the 18 deleted scenes from the second season DVD but we have more episodes with deleted scenes this time. On disc three we also have "The Lady Killer" Alternate Endings (1:11). We have two more alternate reveals of who is working with Mona on the A-team. It's cool to see this, since they just probably did that so no spoilers are leaked on who the A-team member is. The main special features are all on disc five. The first one is a featurette and is the best special feature on this set. It is titled "Pretty Little Liars and The 'A' Network" (15:09). We are given details on the A Network and explore the Rosewood's secret circle of suspects. There were so many hints along the way! Commenting are Oliver Goldstick (executive producer), I Marlene King (executive producer), Janel Parrish, Ian Harding, Brendan Robinson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Troian Bellisario, Keegan Allen, Tammin Sursok, Torrey DeVitto, Sasha Pieterse, Tyler Blackburn, Ashley Benson and Lindsay Shaw. Then we have a VERY fun "Gag Reel" (5:58). This is the first set so far to feature bloopers and it's so nice to finally see these! And finally we have the "Webisodes" that were on ABCFamily.com each week following the mid-season finale leading up to the Halloween episode ("This is a Dark Ride"). These are all leading up to that Halloween episode and had fans hyped up for the special episode. The runtimes were: 0:48, 2:13, 1:10, 2:17, 2:04, 0:58, 2:57, and 1:11. These all featured supporting characters but they were still good!

It's another great season! I think Warner Home Video did an excellent job on this set once again. Yes, this season had one less episode than the previous season, but the Halloween episode was an actual episode this season. We have more episodes with deleted scenes, we finally have a Gag reel, and a very informative featurette! It's just about perfect, but with just some little nitpicks here and there, such as no artwork on the panels again inside the case and still no music on the menus. The important part is we have the episodes in great quality and we can relive these great episodes at any time and go back and find out clues from previous episodes! By the time you finish these 24 episodes, you'll know who is in the A network so far. You'll have to watch and see! Season four, as mentioned, begins Tuesday, June 11 on ABC Family. A special recap episode airs this Tuesday at 8. If you need a refresher or need to catch-up, hurry and get this DVD so you can watch the fourth season every week all-summer! It's time to bring your A game because a lot is revealed this season and there is much more to come, bitches!

(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Official Pretty Little Liars On DVD Page
Pretty Little Liars on TV.com


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Who to Follow: Barbara Eden (Twitter), "The One and ONLY Official Twitter page for legendary actress and Television Icon, Barbara Eden."
Claim to Fame: Barbara Eden got her start singing in the church choir, but it wasn't too much later that she was named Miss San Francisco and had the opportunity to compete in the Miss California Pageant. Through the mid-60s, she was a guest star on anything that she could get a guest starring role in, and along the way even starred in the forgotten sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire. But her big break came in 1965 when she began her role as Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie. While she has done other roles since then, her iconic role as Jeannie is what she will always be best known for.
Why You Should Follow Her: Eden is one of those "classy" actresses from the golden era of television that nobody can hate. It is very rare (if at all) that you hear anything bad about her, and she is very much proud of her work and legacy, and grateful for her fans. In fact, just a few days ago, she even wore her classic Jeannie costume for a charity event. While she isn't the most frequent user of Twitter out there, you can always count on a bit of Jeannie's magic and kindness in her tweets.
Pick of the Tweets: "Larry Hagman not just a great actor, not just a television icon, but an element of pure Americana. I'll miss him. -Barbara" (November 23, 2012)

That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!