SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Interviews with Cast & Crew of 'WKRP', 'Cheers'; TV Land is Looking for 'Three's Company', 'Brady Bunch', 'Cheers' Situations; Friday Notes

TGIF! We have a lot of news today! First, our good friend Eric at JustMyShow.com just posted a whopping three interviews in the latest episode. Eric talked with Gary Sandy, who you'll know as Andy Travis on WKRP in Cincinnati. There is a bonus clip where Gary talks about the status of WKRP on DVD. After that, Eric chatted with Paul Willson, who you may remember as Paul Krapence on Cheers and as the restaurant critic Andy Portico on that great episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In addition he chats with Jim Ellis, the singer and composer of the WKRP closing theme, tells the story of how the song without any real lyrics came to be. So, head on over to listen to episode #10 of Just My Show!

TV Land is casting a new show called Your Reality, where they look for living situations similar to of classic TV shows. They are looking for situations similar to of The Brady Bunch, Cheers, and Three's Company. It's a fun, good-humored show where TV Land looks for the "real-life" versions of classic TV sitcoms. Here is the casting call:
Are You Living the Real-Life Three's Company?!
Do you and your roommates have a bizarre or unique living situation? Do you have as much fun as Jack, Janet, & Chrissy?! Do you get into crazy misadventures, date each other's friends or send mixed messages? Do you have a flirtatious or sleazy neighbor, or does your suspicious landlord drop in at all the wrong times?
If you answered Yes! to some (but not necessarily all) of the above questions and you think that your living situation is similar to one on Three's Company, you could win your very own reality show (and some cash)!
You don't have to be a perfect match. If you've got a Jack and a Chrissy, you don't need to have a Janet. You can be two guys and a girl, or two girls and a guy, you can even be only two people and any combo works! We want fun, outgoing roommates who like the possibility of being on TV and winning some money.
All you have to do to be eligible is email us today and tell us how you're similar to Three's Company! Email YourReality@813casting.com. Be sure to include your contact info and some pictures of you & your roommates.
Your Reality on TV Land is produced by Stick Figure Productions. For more info, check out www.stickfigureproductions.com/casting6.html. They are also seeking families who resemble The Brady Bunch and bars similar to Cheers!

Viewers can now get a free sneak peek at the entire first episode of CBS's new medical drama 3Lbs. -- before it premieres on CBS -- by logging onto CBS's broadband channel innertube (www.cbs.com/innertube). The premiere episode is also available for free on Yahoo for the next three days, starting today. Additionally, after 3Lbs. premieres on CBS on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT), every episode of the series will be available for viewers to watch for free on innertube for four weeks following the initial broadcast. Stanley Tucci, Mark Feuerstein, Indira Varma and Armando Riesco star in 3Lbs., a new drama about a team of top New York City neurosurgeons who explore the brain -- the core of intelligence, the center of emotion and spirit and the last great medical frontier.
And in a surprise move, NBC has renewed its critically acclaimed but ratings challenged, first-year drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.
Finally, Digital Music Group, Inc., a content owner and global leader in the digital distribution of independently owned music and video catalogs, announced that it has expanded its business model to include the digital distribution of television, film, and video catalogs. As part of this announcement, DMGI also reported the closing of a number of long-term distribution agreements with television, film, and video catalog owners representing more than 4,000 hours of video content which will be marketed as content channels under the brand name "DMGI Network." Among the channels are:
* Classics: this channel includes classic TV series from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, including: I Spy (82 episodes), Daniel Boone (165 episodes), My Favorite Martian (107 episodes), The Invisible Man (26 episodes), The Cisco Kid (156 episodes), Peter Gunn (114 episodes), and The Adventures of Robin Hood (113 episodes).
* Kids: this channel includes both modern and classic content for kids, including: The Gumby Show (110 episodes), Gumby Adventures (116 episodes), The Shari Show (26 episodes), Clutch Cargo (52 episodes), and Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse (125 episodes).
For more information on the catalogs and content announces today, please visit www.dmgi.com/video/.
All its programs are either already live or set to go live on Google Video for a fee; other platforms will follow, including iTunes, with which the company has already pacted.

'King of Queens' Returns for December on CBS; ABC and CBS Notes

Kevin James, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller return with original episodes of The King of Queens in December on CBS.
CBS will broadcast back-to-back new episodes of The King of Queens on Wednesday, Dec. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday, Dec. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET). New episodes of The King of Queens will also be broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 20 (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday Dec. 27 (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT). Seven more episodes of The King of Queens to be broadcast in 2007 will be announced at a later date.
The network also announced that it has devised a scheduling pattern to broadcast new drama Jericho in two distinct seasons. Jericho will conclude its "fall season" with a cliffhanger finale on Wednesday, Nov. 29 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) and come back in February with all original episodes for the remainder of the season.
Jericho will return on February 14 with a recap special looking back at the first 11 episodes, followed by an original episode on February 21. The all-new episode on February 21 will provide a look into life in Jericho the day before the nuclear bombs exploded.
To sustain audience momentum and update potential new viewers, CBS will create an online destination for Jericho during the show's 10-week intermission. The site will include original content, interactive elements, recaps and sneak previews.
CBS will also continue to stream all episodes of Jericho broadcast to date on its broadband channel innertube. Currently, it is the network's most-streamed program on innertube.
Speaking of innertube, they will stream the four remaining episodes of the canceled new drama Smith. All 7 episodes will be available to view.

As for ABC, they have announced that starting November 30 on Thursdays at 10 p.m. will be now Men in Trees. This will be at least through the end of December. Likely the show will air for two original episodes during that time and then repeats. Six Degrees is scheduled to come back to the schedule in January, but I highly doubt it will take back its slot. We won't be seeing it until January because it has been pulled for tonight as the hostage episode of Desperate Housewives will encore tonight at 10. As for Fridays in December, look for movies, specials and repeats. The network television premiere of The Polar Express (December 1) will be among the things ABC has scheduled on Fridays. Also, new sitcom Big Day premieres November 28 at 9 p.m., but on December 12 ABC will air two episodes, at 8:30pm and 9pm. Don't know why yet, and 8pm is still TBD on that night. Click HERE to view more specials and movies that ABC has just scheduled for December.
Meanwhile, a former ABC star might be heading to CBS Soon. Kaley Cuoco, most recently of The WB's Charmed, but known most for her role as Bridget on the John Ritter ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules, has been cast in a CBS sitcom pilot called The Big Bang Theory. The comedy, from Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, offers the Weird Science-esque premise of a pair of brilliant physicists (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons) and the sexy young woman (Cuoco) who teaches them about real life. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amanda Walsh was originally cast in the role, but CBS decided in May that the part should be recast. Cuoco auditioned the first time around, but was too young for the part and ended up in another comedy pilot, this one at ABC (called Separated at Worth, which didn't make the schedule). Of course, when the role was re-conceived at younger, Cuoco got the call. Let's hope the pilot makes it on the schedule next fall.

We shall be back with more news, as the day is still young.

33rd Annual People's Choice Awards Nominees; Two 'Three's Company' DVDs Coming Jan. 30; More 'Benson' on TV Land

The 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards will be airing on CBS on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007 from 9-11pm ET/PT. Here are the Television Nominations:

FAVORITE TV COMEDY:
The King of Queens (CBS)
My Name Is Earl (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)

FAVORITE TV COMEDY - ANIMATED
Family Guy (Fox)
King of the Hill (Fox)
The Simpsons (Fox)

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
House (Fox)

FAVORITE COMPETITION/REALITY SHOW
American Idol (Fox)
Deal or No Deal (NBC)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)

FAVORITE TALK SHOW HOST
Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Syndicated)
Jay Leno (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC)
Oprah Winfrey (Oprah, Syndicated)

FAVORITE FEMALE TV STAR
Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer, CBS)
Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives, ABC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Old Christine, CBS)

FAVORITE MALE TV STAR
Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy, ABC)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men, CBS)
Kiefer Sutherland (24, Fox)

A second round of nominees for categories including Favorite New TV Comedy will launch soon.
Fans have the opportunity to vote for their favorites in each category at PCAvote.com starting today. Online voters can also register for a chance to win a VIP trip to The 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards. Visit PCAvote.com to learn more about the sweepstakes.

Three's Company has finished on DVD...or so you think! Anchor Bay has told us they will release two more sets on Jan. 30, 2007. What will these consist of? They will be single disc sets with the best episodes for Jack and Janet. The Jack Tripper set is titled Three's Company: Capturing the Laughter - Jack's Episodes, will be John Ritter's favorite episodes. He mentioned his favorite episodes when he was alive and Anchor Bay will release some of those episodes on this set. The Janet Wood set is titled Three's Company: Capturing the Laughter - Janet's Episodes, will be Joyce DeWitt's favorite episodes that she herself handpicked for this set! Anchor Bay has not yet announced what the episodes are, but we can expect 5-6 episodes on each set. Will they do best-of sets for each character? As of now, there are no plans, but if these do well, I wouldn't be surprised to see them.
Also, we have to have both spin-offs of the show--The Ropers and Three's a Crowd on DVD. Please email them and tell them we want both spin-offs at: TVonDVD@anchorbayent.com and also at 3sco@dltentertainment.com. We must do this, so fans can have all of the Three's Company universe on DVD. I will have more details on the two best-of sets soon right here and on my Three's Company website.

And for the fourth straight week, TV Land has moved the Friday Night Movie Encore to another night. This time the encore will air this Saturday at 8 p.m. This week's movie is Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, and it will still premiere Friday at 10. So, this again means Benson will air Friday night from approx. 12 am to 4 am! This will not happen next Friday as that will be Star Trek weekend. So, Benson fans take note!

ABC Sitcom 'Help Me' Pre-Empted Tonight; i Network's Thanksgiving Marathon Episode Info

ABC will preempt new sitcom Help Me Help You tonight for election coverage. Election coverage was originally slated for 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., but ABC will expand it from 9:30 to 11 instead, immediately following the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars. Help Me Help You will return Tuesday, November 28 because next week will be the premiere of the new game show Show Me the Money and the week after the American Music Awards are airing.
Help Me Help You stars Ted Danson and airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on ABC and averages over 10 million viewers a week making it the number one new half-hour sitcom, despite losing over half of its lead-ins viewers.

We told you a few weeks back that the i Network will have four days worth of marathons during Thanksgiving weekend (Nov 23-26), which includes a two-day launch marathon for Growing Pains, but now we have episode details! Click here to see which episodes are airing of Mama's Family, Charlie's Angels and Growing Pains that weekend. I know I will be tuned in to the i network that weekend!

CBS's innertube.com Revives Failed Pilot; NBC.com Has 'Office' Producer's Cut Episode, NBC Shortens Mid-Season Sitcom Episode Order

Starting today, the never-before-seen sitcom/reality hybrid, The Papdits, produced for CBS during the 2006 development season, will stream for free on CBS's broadband channel innertube (www.cbs.com/innertube). The show is a docu-comedy about a family from Kashmir and their interactions with real Americans as they travel through the U.S. looking for the perfect community in which to settle and make their fortune.
CBS passed on The Papdits last May and Fox gave a six-episode commitment back in November 2004, but then was scrapped, can FINALLY be seen online on innertube!

NBC's Emmy-winning comedy The Office (Thursdays, 8:30 9:00pm ET/PT) will offer fans a first-ever, web-exclusive "producer's cut" on November 9. The episode will include additional scenes and extra footage not shown in the broadcast version. Viewers can log onto NBC.com at 9:00pm (PT) on November 9 to see the web-exclusive event.
In the pivotal November 9 episode, Jan (Melora Hardin) tells Michael (Steve Carell) that the Scranton Branch will be shutting down and Michael strives to keep his staff's spirits up. Meanwhile, everyone privately begins to envision how their lives will change in the aftermath.
Meanwhile NBC has announced it has trimmed the episode order for the upcoming mid-season single camera sitcom The Singles Table from 13 to 6. The sitcom stars John Cho and Alicia Silverstone and is about a group of single people who meet at a wedding reception. It's one of two comedies (both single camera) NBC has on tap for mid-season, along with the Andy Richter's Andy Barker, P.I.

Week 7 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 7 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 8.6/13.6; ABC: 8.3/13.0; NBC: 6.4/10.2; Fox: 4.2/6.5; The CW: 2.2/3.3.
Total Viewers: CBS: 13.57 million; ABC: 12.5 million; NBC: 10.11 million; Fox: 6.66 million; The CW: 3.39 million.
Adults 18-49: ABC: 4.3/11.2; CBS: 4.2/10.9; NBC: 3.8/10.0; Fox: 2.6/6.7; The CW: 1.5/3.9.

Analysis: The seventh week saw the first three nights slow, as repeats were mixed in, but November sweeps started Thursday and we are just underway! And like the current pattern, CBS will likely win for the 7th straight week in viewers while ABC likely gets the demos for the 7th straight week! As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. ABC and CBS lead a close race for the top spot so far with NBC a distant third and Fox well back in fourth. On Monday, CBS's CSI: Miami was a repeat and still won the last hour with 14.47 million, but 9pm's Heroes on NBC was again strong in the 18-49 demo, with a series high 6.5/15 and a nice bump in total viewers with 14.89. NBC's Deal or No Deal lead the night off with a solid 16.9 million helping NBC win the night as CBS were in all-repeats. NBC's Studio 60 was not on this week and actually a special episode of Friday Night Lights did slightly better than it with 8.26 million. ABC's The Bachelor was down from last week's 8.18 million to 7.77 million (it has gone down each week in the last few weeks), What About Brian slightly went up from last week's 5.98 million to 6.08 million, after a season high of 7.34 million a few weeks back. CBS sitcoms were in repeats, but The Class at 8:30 was way down from usual CBS Monday repeats, as the newbie did just 7.22 million, but the number one sitcom Two and a Half Men did 13.72 million for a repeat. Tuesday, it was ABC's turn of excellence as Dancing with the Stars did 20.51 million for 90 minutes and the sitcom Help Me Help You held less than half of that audience and did 9.01 million--down from last week. Fox's regular line-up returned with Standoff doing terrible but House came back strong and did 14.18 million, building almost over 10 million from its lead-in. NBC did well with Law & Order: CI and Law & Order: SVU, but Friday Night Lights did just 3.99 million, though it was a repeat. CBS was also in the ballpark and did decent with NCIS and The Unit, CSI: NY averaged 11.82 million. Wednesday saw CBS and ABC battle it out, with CBS edging ABC in viewers this time and ABC winning in the demo. ABC won the opening hour again with Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 12.6/20 rating and 19.22 million. CBS's Jericho did 9.87 million, a series low. NBC had a bad night as the NBC comedies again did even worse (see analysis). ABC's The Nine might be off the line-up or moved soon. The show did its lowest numbers yet with 6.52 million. They should switch Six Degrees and The Nine this week...they really should. I do commend ABC for being patient. CBS won from 9-11pm with Criminal Minds and CSI: NY both doing over 16 million (16.97 and 16.64 million). ABC's Lost didn't win 9pm in viewers, as it did 16.07 million, beat by CBS's Criminal Minds. The CW's America's Next Top Model was down a million from last week's 5.45 million to 4.41 million...what happened? Fox had a terrible showing from The Rich List, a new game show, doing just 4.1 million, tying a new episode of NBC's 20 Good Years, both are now gone. On Thursday we saw CBS and ABC dominate, but NBC did decent. ABC's Grey's Anatomy had 21.02 million at 9pm and in the same slot CSI had 20.77 million (GA also won in HH 13.8/20 to 12.9/19 and A18-49 9.0/21 to 7.0/16). At 8 p.m. ABC continues to do well with Ugly Betty, as the one-hour comedy did decent again with 13.62 million, slightly up from previous week; Survivor had 15.3 million though, but the ABC one-hour comedy won in HH 9.3 to 8.9. At 10 p.m. newbie Shark did 13.32 million, with ER edging it with 13.85 million. ABC's Six Degrees did 7.4 million, a series low, move this to Wednesday at 10 this week. And Fox saw pathetic numbers with the comedies and the season premiere of The O.C.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS's dramas doing well and a nice bump for Law & Order at 10 p.m. ABC saw decent numbers for a special two-hour 20/20. Saturday ratings are not available yet. As for tonight, ABC will dominate, especially Desperate Housewives. A highly promoted and anticipated episode tonight! Who will get shot? Find out tonight! Look for ABC to win the demo tonight and total viewers, as new series Brothers & Sisters is consistent and steady. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is also solid for ABC and NBC might get high numbers for their football game, but not enough to win the night. I again expect ABC to win the week in the demo and CBS in total viewers..though it will be close if ABC does very well tonight with the special episode of DH. NBC should be third in everything. What to look for this week is how Lost's fall finale will do.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Oct. 23-29)

• The Simpsons (Fox) 7 and 8pm - Two repeats did 3.57 and 5.36 million.
  
• 'Til Death (Fox) - Special repeat broadcast built on lead-in a bit with 3.92 million.
  
• American Dad (Fox) - A repeat went down from lead-in with 4.58 million.
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat built back up from lead-in with 5.14 million.
  
• War at Home (Fox) - Repeat did 3.6 million, huge drop from lead-in. This is an out of place sitcom on an all-animated night.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 8.38 million, down from last week's 9.59 million, though that was an original.
  
• The Class (CBS) - 7.22 million for a repeat...should be a bit higher as CBS Monday comedies do not repeat that low. More of a concern was a 4th place finish in A18-49 in its slot with a 2.5/6 rating.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Even a repeat makes this sitcom the ratings leader for sitcoms with 13.72 million, down slightly from an original last week which did 15.03 million.
• New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 10.6 million tuned in for a repeat, down from the 12.1 million for an original the previous week. Not bad.
  
• CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. All new episodes Chris started it off with 3.58 million, the highest of the block and a season high. The rest did also did over 3 million (except The Game), ranging 2.85 to 3.13 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Help Me Help You (ABC) - For the first time in a few weeks the show dropped. House on Fox was the reason I bet. 9.01 million for this week, down from last week's 10.59 million. It needs to do over 10 million right now with a huge lead-in.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• 30 Rock (NBC) - Down big from last week's 6.01 million to just 4.61 million. No episode this week and NBC won't return this show until it moves to Thursdays.
  
• 20 Good Years (NBC) - Only 4.1 million tuned in and a pathetic 1.5/4 A18-49 rating. Another episode will never air I bet as NBC has pulled it for next week, which was supposed to be its last scheduled appearance for November.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 9.48 million tuned in and a decent 4.1/11 A18-49 rating. 5.7/9 HH rating needs to go at least into the 6's. Looks like majority of the audience is 18-49.
  
• The Office (NBC) - Same as its lead-in, majority of the audience is 18-49, even more for this show. 8.81 million, 4.2/10 A18-49, and 5.2/8 HH rating.
• 'Til Death (Fox) - You know it is sad when a repeat at 7:30pm on Sunday almost out does a new episode. 4.33 million tuned in. Not good. But the show following it is even worse that they will expand this show to a new episode and a repeat episode next week for a full-hour.
  
• Happy Hour (Fox) - Goodbye! Just 3.2 million and Fox quickly has pulled it. It looks like for good this time. 1.4/4 A 18-49 rating is nothing to write home about.
  

Friday Sitcoms
None.

Saturday Sitcoms
None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Fox comedies.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, My Name is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office and Everybody Hates Chris) or just plain old terrible (such as Happy Hour and 20 Good Years).

Mini-DVD Reviews: Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season (Nov. 7)

Today we take a look at two classic '90s Fox dramas. Paramount Home Entertainment's Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season. See Shawn Eaton's mini-DVD reviews of both of these sets below:

Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season (Paramount, $54.99) brings us the classic first season of probably one of the best teen dramas of all-time. School is back in session with the kids of BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 finally coming to DVD! Paramount has issued the Complete 1st Season of the hit FOX teen-soap, which ran on the network from 1990 until 2000, spanning a whopping 10 seasons of friendships, betrayals, rivalries and love affairs. This acclaimed series made stars out of it's entire cast. Leading the pack are Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh, Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh, Luke Perry as Dylan McKay, Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor, Tori Spelling as Donna Martin, Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders, Brian Austin Green as David Silver and Gabrielle Carteris as Andrea Zuckerman. Rounding out the first season cast are Carol Potter as Cindy Walsh, James Eckhouse as Jim Walsh and Douglas Emerson as Scott (David's nerdy pal).
This six-disc set contains all 21 regular episodes along with the original two-hour pilot (which is broken into two parts). The six discs are spaced out over three slim cases. Discs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 each contain four episodes. Disc 6 contains three episodes, plus the bonus features.
Notable episodes for this season include "Pilot" which started it all. "The Green Room" is the one that introduces Luke Perry as Dylan. "Higher Education" is the one where straight-ace Brandon cheats on a test after being pushed to the limit by a demanding and harsh teacher. "Perfect Mom" is where we are introduced to Kelly's boozing mom, Jackie (played by Ann Gillespie). "The Gentle Art of Listening" as Brenda joins a teen hotline. "Isn't It Romantic?" is where the foundation for the Brenda/Dylan relationship is set. "Slumber Party" is where a bitchy friend of Kelly's forces all the girls to reveal dark secrets about themselves. "It's Only A Test" in which Brenda finds a lump in her breast and "Home Again" in which Jim gets a job offer that could take the Walsh family right back to Minnesota! The episodes themselves have six chapter skips and they appear to be uncut (as far as I can personally tell, as they each run around a whopping 45-46 minutes), although the music has been changed (the theme song is intact; no worries), which isn't very noticeable, in my opinion and it's the episodes that matter!
The special features on this set are very nice. We have the all-important Commentary by creator Darren Star, on "Pilot" (Part 1 only), and "Spring Dance". We also have some featurettes including: "Beginnings with Darren Star" is a six minute interview with Darren Star as he discusses Season 1, how they expanded Tori Spelling's role, how they told issue-oriented stories, and how great the actors were--a nice interview. "Meet The Class of West Beverly High" is an awesome featurette! You go to a sub-menu and can select each character (Dylan, Brenda, Brandon, Donna, David, Kelly, Andrea and Steve) and you can see the "stats" of the character and then click on a Behind-The-Scenes interview with the cast member of that character in which they talk about their character. Interviews are NOT new, and appear to be from the 1990/1991 era. Very fun! "90210" Behind-The-Scenes Featurette" seems to be from back in 1991 or 1992. It doesn't appear to have been made for the DVD, but was an old Behind-The-Scenes thing. Nice featurette that goes through each character, giving a run-down of the characters. And the "Looking Back: Season One - The Recap" is just recaps of the episodes. It lists the episodes, you select one and it gives a recap.
Overall, a fantastic release by Paramount, and I for one cannot wait until the Second Season!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton
(4.5/5 stars)

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Melrose Place: The Complete First Season (Paramount, $54.99) brings us the classic first season of the spin-off of 90210 and one of the best prime-time soaps of all-time. Let the scheming, the scandals and the sex begin! 4616 Melrose Place is where it all takes place. One of the guiltiest pleasures of all time, the FOX primetime soap (and spin-off of equally popular "Beverly Hills, 90210) "Melrose Place" is finally available on DVD! Paramount has issued a massive 8-disc set of the Complete 1st Season, which features all 32, yes 32, first season episodes of the hit series. A spin-off of "90210," "Melrose Place" took to the airwaves in the summer of 1992, to less than stellar ratings, only to catapult to success with the addition of Heather Locklear and the swift change of issue-oriented story lines to camp soap opera stories. The premise was a bunch of very different 20-somethings living in the same apartment building. The tenants at the start of the series were Josie Bissett as fashion designer and wife Jane Mancini, Thomas Calabro as Dr. Michael Mancini, Andrew Shue as good-natured writer Billy Campbell, Courtney Thorne-Smith as the hapless Alison Parker, Grant Show as biker bad-boy with a heart of gold, Jake Hanson (who had made his debut on "Beverly Hills, 90210" as Jake), Doug Savant as the openly gay Matt Fielding, Vanessa Williams as jazz instructor Rhonda and Amy Locane as southern starlet Sandy. After 13 episodes, Locane left the series and the producers brought in Daphne Zuniga as mysterious photographer Jo Reynolds along with Heather Locklear as the bitchy uber-executive Amanda Woodward. Throughtout the season we also were introduced to future regulars (and some say two of the most popular characters in the series), Marcia Cross as tightly-woven Dr. Kimberly Shaw and Laura Leighton as Sydney Andrews, Jane's sister.
The eight-disc set contains all 32 episodes of the first season. The eight discs are spread over four slim-cases. Each case features two or three of the main cast in a nice teal color. Each disc contains four episodes. The special features themselves are actually spread out over several discs, instead of being on the last disc, like most sets, but I'll get to those in a bit.
The episodes, arguably, start out slow and cheesy (according to most fans, myself included), but I'll list the notable ones to take a second look at. "Pilot," is where it started it all and introduced us to 4616 Melrose Place. "Second Chances" which is one of Rhonda's few storylines to shine in. "Lonely Hearts" in which Sandy and Amy Locane get to shine in a chilling plot. "Burned" is where racism is dealt with. "A Promise Broken" in which we are introduced to Marcia Cross' Dr. Kimberly Shaw. "House of God" is the one where we meet Daphne Zuniga's Jo. "Single White Sister" in which we meet Laura Leighton's Sydney. "Picture Imperfect" is the one where Heather Locklear debuts as Amanda Woodward. "Pushing Boundaries" is the one which Kimberly puts the moves on Michael. "Carpe Diem" is about Alison and Billy having their first "date." "State of Need" is the one where Amanda reveals her pregnancy with Billy's baby. And the season finale "Suspicious Minds" in which Amanda announces herself to be the new owner of Melrose Place! The episodes themselves do appear to be uncut (at least to me, personally) and run about 44-45 minutes in length, although the music has been changed, the popular theme song is still intact, thankfully. Chapter skips for each episode are available.
The special features, themselves, as I have said, are spread out over several discs. Disc 2 features "Beginnings," a 5 minute featurette in which creator Darren Star discuss the start of the series (based on his own personal experiences living in a similar complex, etc.) with interviews with the stars (the interviews are not new and probably from around the start of the show in 1992/1993). Disc 3 features "Friends & Neighbors" a mini-featurette that runs about 6 minutes and features Darren Star discussing several of the characters inter-cut with old press interviews with the cast (appears to be, again, from 1992/1993). Star discusses Jane, Michael (and to a lesser extent Kimberly), Matt, Sandy and Jake. On Disc 4, we have "Neighbors & Friends" which is the same as "Friends & Neighbors" except Star discusses the rest of the characters (Billy, Alison, Jo, Kimberly, and Rhonda). It also runs about 6 minutes in length. On Disc 5 we have "Season One - Episode Guide" in which, like the "90210" release, you can click on an episode title and read the description of the episode. Also on Disc 5 we have "Melrose Place: Behind-The-Scenes Featurette" much like the "90210" one. It appears to be from around the start of the series, 1992/1993, and features a run down of the series and interviews with the cast as they discuss their characters, etc. It runs around 5 minutes. On Disc 6 we have "Amanda", a mini-featurette that runs about 2 minutes and features Darren Star discussing the arrival of Heather Locklear and the formation of Amanda. Disc 7 brings us the final special feature "Melrose Place: New Style Profile" featurette, which runs about 5 minutes and talks about the style of the show (it appears to be another "Behind the Scenes" featurette).
Once again, a truly FANTASTIC release by Paramount that I'm sure Melrose Place fans (like myself) will be absolutely ecstatic about!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton
(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Melrose Place TV.com Page

Hallmark Channel Moves M*A*S*H*, Removes The Waltons; Book Review of Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms 1974-1984

Effective November 27, The Hallmark Channel will be moving M*A*S*H's 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET/PT slot to 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET/PT. Why? Because they are preparing the new slot because by January they can only air the show between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., because TV Land has rights in a shared window deal. TV Land will have rights from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. ET/PT. So, Hallmark will air M*A*S*H from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and will continue to air it early evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET/PT. The Waltons was previously airing back-to-back at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and now will be off the schedule. They still have rights until April, I think, so it could return. Replacing M*A*S*H at 11 p.m. will be Hallmark Movies. Click here to view the changes and to discuss it.

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Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms 1974-1984 (Billboard Books, $16.95)

It was the best of times, it was--well, the best of times! In the decade between 1974 and 1984, the Paramount lot was a cauldron of creativity, talent, and innovation. Marley Brant, brings her influence and years of access together in HAPPIER DAYS: Paramount Television’s Classic Sitcoms 1974-1984 (Billboard Books; $16.95; October 2006), a behind-the-scenes look at Happy Days, Taxi, Cheers and more than a dozen other television series produced there during a decade of madcap inspiration and accomplishment.

In the interim between the debut of "Happy Days" and the final episode of "Cheers," many of the entertainment industry's biggest stars, best writers, most skilled directors and most successful producers were discovered or their already established talents nurtured, lifelong friendships and renowned professional alliances were created, and the landscape of the television sitcom was definitely altered. The talent was tremendous: Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Henry Winkler, Penny Marshall, Andy Kaufman, Donna Pescow, Danny De Vito - actors who would become superstars, many appearing in their first starring roles.

Through a series of intimate and revealing interviews, her own firsthand knowledge and exhaustive research, former Paramount television publicist Marley Brant takes us behind the scenes of these legendary shows for an up-close and personal look at the talented people who brought them to life. Brant examines the personal and professional roots of the creative talent, the evolution of the shows, the intricate relationships among cast members, and the creation of some of the most popular episodes, as well as taping sessions, guest stars, and where the actors and crew are today. Packed full of insider information, anecdotes, cast lists, biographical facts and little-known or previously unpublished stories, Happier Days is the definitive chronicle of some of the most creative sitcoms of all time.

282 pages ~ 6 x 9 ~ 0-8230-8933-9

About the Author
Marley Brant is the author of seven books, many of which have been the featured research for television programs that have aired on A&E, The History Channel, VH1, TBS, and CMT. Brant has held many positions in the entertainment industry, including biographical writer, publicist, artist development executive, and music and television producer. Employed in the publicity office of Paramount Television in the late seventies and early eighties, she worked closely with the cast and crews of Paramount’s premier television productions.

My Review: As a big fan of many Paramount sitcoms, I was excited to learn about this new book. I was born in 1974, so these are the shows I grew up watching. The book is divided into 14 chapters, with various other sections included such as Acknowledgments, Introduction, Afterword, The Legacy, Timeline, Selected Credits, Sources, and Index. There are 24 black & white photos of the cast and crew scattered throughout the pages. The book focuses on 9 sitcoms:

Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Taxi, Angie, The Bad News Bears, Bosom Buddies, Family Ties, and Cheers

There are lesser sections and mentions of the following short-lived shows:

Paper Moon, When Things Were Rotten, The Cop and the Kid, Blansky's Beauties, Busting Loose, Mulligan's Stew, Who's Watching the Kids, Brothers and Sisters,
Struck by Lightning, Working Stiffs, The Associates, Goodtime Girls, Here's Boomer, Best in the West, Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Laverne & Shirley in the Army, and Joanie Loves Chachi

Recent interviews were conducted with Director Jim Burrows, Randall Carver, Pam Dawber, Corey Feldman, Michael Gross, Clint Howard, Donna Pescow, Misty Rowe, Suzi Quatro, and Director Howard Storm.

Chapter 1 - Before A Live Audience - This section gives some details on the tapings of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Taxi. The tapings were often anything but predictable. What an experience it must have been to see an episode being taped.

Chapter 2 - Three Creative Forces Explode - Garry Marshall, Michael Eisner, and Barry Diller are profiled and details are given on how they got started in the business.

Chapter 3 - Love in the Happy Days - This section focuses primarily on the first season of Happy Days. It details how the pilot aired as an episode of Love, American Style. Casting and biographical information is given for Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Donny Most, Erin Moran, Gavan O'Herlihy, Randolph Roberts, Pat Morita, and various crew members.

Chapter 4 - Hello, Blue Skies - Seasons 2-11 of Happy Days are detailed. Al Molinaro, Suzi Quatro, Misty Rowe, Scott Baio, Beatrice Cohen, and Roz Kelly are profiled. Various topics covered include the guest stars, catchphrases, and the softball team. Misty Rowe (Wendy the Carhop) and Suzi Quatro (Leather Tuscadero) are interviewed.

Chapter 5 - Making Their Dreams Come True - Happy Days spin-off Laverne & Shirley is the focus here. Casting and biographical information is given for Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Eddie Mekka, Phil Foster, Betty Garrett, David L. Lander and Michael McKean. The fighting between Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams is detailed.

Chapter 6 - Triumph and Tribulation - More information is given on Laverne & Shirley.
Cindy Williams was often unhappy with the writers of the show, and once filed a lawsuit against the producers. There were some funny behind-the-scenes stories on the competetiveness between Penny and Cindy.

Chapter 7 - Mork Calling Paramount - Garry Marshall's son, Scott, wanted to see a show with a space alien, so that is where the idea for Mork & Mindy came from. Interestingly, Robin Williams wasn't originally supposed to play Mork and another actor played Mindy's father. Robin Williams, Pam Dawber, and the other cast members are profiled. Many interesting factoids are given, and the interviews with Pam Dawber and Director Howard Storm added a lot to this section.

Chapter 8 - Nanu Nanu Means Success - Seasons 2-4 of Mork & Mindy are detailed. Robert Donner, Jay Thomas, Gina Hecht, Jim Stahl, and Jonathan Winters are profiled. Guest star Corey Feldman is interviewed. A lot of the changes for the second season are discussed. As they always say, you never mess with or move a hit show. Moving Grey's Anatomy to Thursdays seems to have worked alright for ABC, though.

Chapter 9 - Hey, Taxi! - The development and first season of Taxi are discussed in great detail. I wasn't very familiar with Taxi before reading this section, so a lot of this information was knew to me. Profiles and the casting information is given for Juddd Hitrsh, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Jeff Conaway, Randall Carver, and Andy Kaufman. There is some fascinating information on Andy Kaufman's contract and other casting details. Randall Carver is interviewed.

Chapter 10 - A New Kind of Family - Seasons 2-5 of Taxi are discussed. Rhea Perlman and Carol Kane bios are given. A lof of behind-the-scenes details are given on Jeff Conaway's problems and Andy Kauffman's wrestling career. The move from ABC to NBC is also detailed.

Chapter 11 - Different Worlds - The short-lived series, Angie, gets its own section. Donna Pescow, Robert Hays, Doris Roberts, John Randolph, and Debralee Scott are profiled. Due to some time slot changes, the show lasted only 36 episodes. Donna Pescow is interviewed.

Chapter 12 - Bears, Associates, and Cross-Dressers - This section covers The Bad News Bears, The Associates, Bosom Buddies, and several other short-lived sitcoms.
Jack Warden, Corey Feldman, and the rest of The Bad News Bears cast are profiled. Corey Feldman is interviewed and shares his experiences on working on the show. Wilfrid Hyde-White, Martin Short, Joe Regalbuto, Alley Mills, and Shelley Smith from The Associates are profiled. Despite running only 9 episodes, this show received a number of award nominations. Biographical information for Goodtime Girls actors Georgia Engel, Annie Potts, Lorna Patterson, Camille Rittenhouse, and Adrian Zmed is given. Finally, there is some information on Bosom Buddies. Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, Wendie Jo Sperber, Donna Dixon, Telma Hopkins, Holland Taylor, and Lucille Benson are profiled. Interestingly, Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari were not the producer's first choices to play Kip and Henry.

Chapter 13 - A New Family in Town - Family Ties (finally coming to DVD!) is the focus here. Creator Gary David Goldberg, Michael J. Fox, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman, Tina Yothers, Marc Price, Scott Valentine, Tray Pollan, Brian Bonsall, and Courteney Cox are profiled. There is some interesting information on who else was considered for the roles of Steven and Alex P. Keaton. Michael Gross is interviewed.

Chapter 14 - Cheers to You - The bar where everybody knows your name is discussed in detail. Ted Danson, Shelley Long, John Ratzenberger, Nicholas Colosanto, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kirstie Alley are profiled. Many topics are discussed including the death of Nicholas Colosanto, adding Woody Harrelson to the cast, and Shelley Long's departure and Kirstie Alley's arrival. Director Jim Burrows is interviewed.

The Legacy - This section gives some information on where the cast members from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Taxi, Mork & Mindy, Angie, The Bad News Bears, Bosom Buddies, Family Ties, and Cheers are now. There is also some information on the behind the camera people including James L. Brooks, James Burrows, Michael Eisner, Gary David Goldberg, and Garry Marshall.

Timeline - A listing of the Paramount shows mentioned in the book with their first and last episode dates.

Selected Credits - Cast, Producers, Directors, Writers, and Casting information for Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Taxi, Mork & Mindy, Angie, The Associates, Bosom Buddies, Family Ties, and Cheers.

Sources - The various books, interviews, and internet sites used for research information. It was a thrill to see 5 of my own sitcom sites listed!

Index - A handy index of the actors, shows, episodes, and other details mentioned in the book.

Final Comments: This book is as entertaining as the shows covered in it. Five of the sitcoms featured in this book (Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Family Ties, and Cheers) are among my all-time favorites. I've read quite a bit information on these shows over the years, but this book provided even more new details to me. It was fascinating to see how some of the episode storylines came about and who else was considered for some of the roles. The interviews with the various cast and crew members added a lot of depth and insight into the shows. I would have loved to see even more interviews to provide behind the scenes details, especially from the Happy Days cast. This book is well organized and researched (I especially liked how the did you know? type facts were inserted), and I highly recommend it to any fans of the sitcoms covered in it.

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the Book, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
Happy Days Online
Mork & Mindy Onine
Family Ties Online
Cheers Central
Sitcoms Online - Angie
Sitcoms Online - Bosom Buddies
Sitcoms Online - Blansky's Beauties
Sitcoms Online - Joanie Loves Chachi

'Reba' Returns in November; ABC Family Channel's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule, 'Perfect Strangers' Unaired Pilot?

The CW comedy Reba, starring country music legend and Broadway star Reba McEntire, will make its debut on The CW's Sunday line-up on Nov. 19 with back-to-back original episodes from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET just in time for Thanksgiving. Beginning the following Sunday, Nov. 26, Reba will move into its new regularly scheduled time period with an encore of Reba airing from 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET, followed by original telecasts airing from 7:30-8:00 p.m. ET. New episodes of the long running family drama 7th Heaven will continue to air at 8 p.m., followed by encores of the hit reality show America's Next Top Model.

The ABC Family Channel takes viewers on a journey into winter wonderland with its ninth annual 25 Days Of Christmas programming event. This year features over 200 hours of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family from December 1-25. Also, in a first for 25 Days Of Christmas, Saturdays and Sundays will be filled from sun up to sun down with up to 17 hours of holiday favorites including Harry Potter and Rankin Bass marathons.

It all kicks off at 7 p.m. on December 1 and you can find the FULL line-up by clicking HERE. You don't want to miss this!

Finally, did you know there is a Perfect Strangers unaired pilot? Yes, there is! I didn't know that, but my good friend Linda Kay has just posted this week's update on her new and wonderful Perfect Strangers website and among the updates this week is info on the unaired pilot. The unaired pilot actually had Louie Anderson playing the role of Lou Appleton. Louie of course was replaced by Mark Linn-Baker, who went on to play Larry Appleton for the series. It would have been very strange to see Louie. I suggest you go to Linda's website because she has much more info and even very rare photos of Louie in the Perfect Strangers unaired pilot. I hope Warner Home Video is listening and brings this show to DVD and with this unaired pilot as an extra! Dig this up for us Warner!

TBS Makes Minor Schedule Changes; More 'Scrubs' on Comedy Central

TBS will be making some minor changes later this month and early December. November 22 (early November 23) will see Dawson's Creek get an additional airing at 5 a.m. This will be a preview because on most mornings at 5 a.m. starting December 4, you will see Dawson's Creek. That means Parent'hood will air before that around 4:30am. Dawson's Creek will also continue to air in its weekday 9 a.m. slot. And more Dawson's Creek is coming in December, starting Saturday, December 2, it will air Saturdays at 6am replacing The Drew Carey Show, which will be off the schedule again. Other notable highlights for December include a New Year's Eve marathon for Seinfeld from 7pm-1am.

Comedy Central has the perfect remedy for weekday blues: four episodes a day of Scrubs! In addition to airing Monday-Friday 7-8 p.m. and Saturday mornings, everyone’s favorite medical comedy can also be found Monday 10-11 p.m. (which has started already) and Tuesday-Friday 11AM-12Noon, beginning Monday, December 4.
Scrubs is of course about fresh-faced Zach Braff & his crew of oddball hospital personnel. Stick with Comedy Central as the young medical resident embarks on his career in a surreal hospital crammed full of unpredictable staffers and patients. And don't forget Scrubs returns with new episodes on NBC starting Thursday, November 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT!

Sitcoms of Norman Lear Book; 'Benson' Friday Night Marathon

As we mentioned some months back, a new book on the great Norman Lear is coming out. Now we have full details right from the author himself! Sean Campbell has e-mailed us and even posted on our message boards on the details of the book. The book examines how Norman Lear's television programs (All in the Family, Good Times, Maude, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, and One Day at a Time) influenced American culture and future television for the better. This is Sean's first book, at the age of only 17, published by McFarland & Company.
Sean has one request for you buyers out there. He requests you buy the book online this Thursday (November 2) around 7-8PM ET. or at the very least, try to order it on Thursday. His goal is to spike his amazon.com ranking and make bestseller lists, which get sent all over the world. He hopes you'll spread the word to as many people as possible, and write amazon.com reviews. So, without further talk, order the book on Thursday by clicking HERE.
You can view his full message to fans and drop by his website, by clicking here.

Finally, for the third straight week, TV Land has announced it will move the Friday Night Movie encore, this time to Saturday evening. This week's movie is Airplane!, it will still premiere Friday at 10 p.m., but the immediate encore has been moved. Instead we get 7 straight episodes of Benson between 12am-4am! Great news, but why can't TV Land just announce that Benson will be on every Friday night now, instead of announcing it a few days before the night it happens? Oh well.

Sleuth! Celebrates Thanksgiving; ABC Schedules 'Show Me the Money' Premiere After 'Stars'

The Sleuth Network is keeping November full of mystery with its Thanksgiving lineup. Viewers are treated to marathons of their favorite programming throughout the holiday weekend.
Viewers can spend Thanksgiving Day in Miami with their favorite detectives, Crockett and Tubbs for an eight-hour Miami Vice Marathon beginning at 12pm (ET). There are no stale leftovers the next day on Sleuth! On Friday, November 24, audiences can relax with five hours of Joe Friday during Sleuth's LA Dragnet Marathon, starting at 12pm (ET). Immediately following will be the Miami Vice Guest Star Marathon at 5pm (ET), which will feature episodes with Bruce Willis, Annette Bening, John Leguizamo and Lou Diamond Phillips.
On Saturday, November 25, Sleuth will offer a Simon & Simon Saturday Marathon, beginning at 12pm (ET). Viewers can spend four hours with the Simon brothers' favorite four-legged clients, accompanied by a couple of dolphins.
And Sleuth's first original production, America's Top Sleuths, showcases the top sleuths ever created for television and film. Chosen by the channel's online audience and featuring interviews with Bruce Willis, Cybil Shepherd, Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Stephen J. Cannell, Jesse Martin and many more, America's Top Sleuths airs Friday, November 24 at 9pm and 1am and Sunday, November 26 at 5pm (all times ET).

Meanwhile, ABC has moved the two-hour Barbara Walters Special from Tuesday, November 14 to Thursday, November 16 and Friday, November 17 in one-hour slots instead. Why? The 90-minute premiere of the new game show Show Me the Money hosted by William Shatner will premiere Tuesday, November 14 from 9:30-11pm, following the last dance show for Dancing with the Stars season three. Show Me the Money will regularly air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting November 22 on ABC.

Week 6 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 6 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 8.4/13.0; ABC: 8.2/12.8; Fox: 7.4/11.7; NBC: 6.1/9.4; The CW: 2.5/3.8.
Total Viewers: CBS: 12.97 million; ABC: 12.39 million; Fox: 11.37 million; NBC: 9.34 million; The CW: 3.92 million.
Adults 18-49: ABC: 4.1/10.7; CBS: 4.0/10.4; Fox: 3.6/9.9; NBC: 3.5/9.0; The CW: 1.8/4.6.

Analysis: The sixth week saw the World Series do low numbers and some of the shows were in repeats like CSI and Grey's Anatomy...and Fox is still not leading the pack. Since the World Series was only 5 games (3 games for this week) and very low rated CBS will likely win for the 6th straight week in viewers (but ABC might pull a win since CBS had Tuesday and Thursday in repeat mode) while ABC likely gets the demos for the 6th straight week (no network has started a season that way in awhile)! As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. ABC and CBS lead a close race for the top spot so far with Fox third and NBC fourth. On Monday, CBS's CSI: Miami won the last hour with 17.83 million and helped them win the night in viewers, but 9pm's Heroes on NBC was again strong in the 18-49 demo, with a series high 6.3/15 and a nice bump in total viewers with 14.45. NBC's Deal or No Deal lead the night off with a solid 15.83 million. NBC's Studio 60 fell more again to 7.72 million...I think we will see at most 13 episodes and that's all. ABC's The Bachelor did solid with 8.18 million, but What About Brian dropped to 5.98 million, after last week's solid 7.34 million. CBS needs work with The Class at 8:30, as the newbie did just 7.95 million, but the number one sitcom Two and a Half Men did 15.03 million, down a bit from previous week. Tuesday, it was ABC's turn of excellence as Dancing with the Stars did 20.69 million for 90 minutes and the sitcom Help Me Help You held half of that audience and did 10.59 million--slightly up from last week and is beginning to be stable. Fox's regular line-up was pre-empted as Baseball coverage (including pre-game) did 14.67 million, fans of House will have to wait until this Tuesday to see the show finally return. NBC did well with Law & Order: CI and Law & Order: SVU, but Friday Night Lights did 6.27 million, down from previous week. CBS had repeats all night long, but still were decent NCIS and The Unit, Criminal Minds averaged 10.23 million. Wednesday saw CBS and ABC battle it out, with ABC edging CBS in viewers and ABC winning in the demo. ABC won the opening hour again with Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 13.3/21 rating and 20.02 million. CBS's Jericho did 10.56 million, slightly down from last week. NBC had a bad night as the NBC comedies again did terrible (see analysis). ABC's The Nine continues to disappoint. The show did its lowest numbers yet with 7.77 million. They should switch Six Degrees and The Nine this week. I do commend ABC for being patient. CBS won from 9-11pm with Criminal Minds and CSI: NY both doing over 16 million (16.77 and 17.42 million). ABC's Lost won 9pm with 17.09 million, edging CBS's Criminal Minds. The CW's America's Next Top Model did well again with 5.45 million. Fox's World Series was rained out and they aired repeats of War at Home which averaged 5.49 million, better than a new episode of NBC's 20 Good Years, which probably can't have 20 good seconds in an episode. On Thursday we saw Fox enter the race with CBS and ABC in repeat mode mainly, as Game 4 of the World Series was down historically ABC's repeat of Grey's Anatomy had 12.18 million at 9pm and in the same slot a repeat of CSI had 16.83 million. At 8 p.m. ABC continues to do well with Ugly Betty, as the one-hour comedy did decent again with 13.14 million, slightly down from previous week; Survivor had 12.63 million (a clip show though). At 10 p.m. the full season renewed Shark was a repeat and did 10.46 million. ER was also a repeat and did 7.11 million. ABC's Six Degrees was not on this week, ABC aired another repeat of Grey's Anatomy and did 9.95 million, up from last week's Six Degrees which did 8.36 million. And game 4 of the World Series did well for Fox with 16.11 million, but not as good as previous World Series.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS's dramas doing well opposite the weak last game of the World Series, and NBC saw was down as Deal or No Deal is gone from Fridays and the new game show 1 vs. 100 started the night off slow. Law & Order at 10 came in second place holding 100% of the OK numbers for Las Vegas' season premiere. ABC saw decent numbers for the classic Charlie Brown special and Men in Trees did OK, up from last week...move this to Thursdays at 10. Fox will win the night with the World Series, but not enough for them to win in demos and viewers for the week--ashame since they had the World Series. Saturday ratings are not available yet. As for tonight, ABC will dominate, especially Desperate Housewives. Look for ABC to win the demo tonight and total viewers, as new series Brothers & Sisters is consistent. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is also solid for ABC and NBC might get high numbers for their football game, but not enough to win the night. I again expect ABC to win the week in the demo and CBS in total viewers..though it will be close if ABC does very well tonight. NBC should be fourth in everything because of Fox's baseball. What to look for this week is how House does against the last half hour of Dancing with the Stars Tuesday...it will be a fun watch.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Oct. 16-22)

• None
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 9.59 million this week, up from last week's 9.05 million. Should be doing a little better because King of Queens last season was more than 10 million.
  
• The Class (CBS) - Down from last week's 8.45 million to 7.95 million this week. I am sad to say that I don't think we will see a back-nine pick-up.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.03 million tuned in, by far the best sitcom, but down for the second straight week after going up each week to start the season. Heroes is denting it I think the last few weeks.
• New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - Down from last week's 12.88 million to 12.1 million.
• CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. All new episodes Chris started it off with 3.19 million, the highest of the block. The rest did under 3 million, ranging 2.48 to 2.93 million. Needs to do a but better, UPN Monday was much better.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Help Me Help You (ABC) - This week the show was up from previous week again. 10.59 million, 7.2/11 HH, 3.2/8 A18-49 rating. It is very consistent, and hopefully when Stars is over it can get these numbers still. If they do, we will see the show get the back-nine pick-up.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• 30 Rock (NBC) - Up from last week's 5.71 million to 6.01 million, but down big still from the premiere. Last week I said to move this to Thursdays, and NBC announced this past week they will starting November 16.
  
• 20 Good Years (NBC) - Why even watch this now? NBC already has hinted it is gone after November 8 (if not earlier). Anyway, 5.36 million watched this week.
• The War at Home (Fox) Repeats - World Series was rained out, so Fox showed us 4 episodes that did OK for them and averaged 5.46 million, peaking at 9pm with 6.11 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat did 7.36 million...not bad.
  
• The Office (NBC) - 6.36 million for a repeat. Will NBC's new four comedy block do well starting November 30?
  

Friday Sitcoms
None.

Saturday Sitcoms
None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Fox comedies.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Class and Help Me Help You) or just plain old terrible (such as The Game and 20 Good Years).

Mini-DVD Reviews: Baywatch Syndicated Seasons 1 and 2; The Super Mario Bros. Super Show Volume 2 (October 31)

Welcome to another edition of the Saturday mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at First Look Home Entertainment's Baywatch: Syndicated Seasons 1 and 2 and Shout! Factory's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Volume 2. Both series were very popular in the late 80s/early '90s and are two totally different shows, so we hope the audience for today's blog will be of all ages. Baywatch was of course about lifeguards saving lives on the beach in Santa Monica while The Super Mario Bros. Super Show was both live-action and animation! See my mini-DVD reviews of both sets:

Baywatch: Syndicated Seasons 1 and 2 (First Look, $34.99 each) brings the first two seasons from the syndication years on DVD on two separate five-disc sets. If you are wondering what they will do about the real season one, which aired on network television on NBC, they will put all of those episodes on each syndicated season set. So, for syndicated season one we will get the Baywatch pilot movie and on the syndicated season two set we will get the next two episodes. So, eventually we will have all the NBC episodes. You just will have to buy the syndicated seasons to get them. Well, anyway, I will cover mainly syndicated season two set since that is when this show really took off with the additions of Pamela Anderson and Nicole Eggert joining David Hasselhoff and the gang. Each episode from syndicated season one and syndicated season two are on this set except the two-part season premieres for both seasons. That is not good, but First Look has said that they don't own the rights to these episodes, Lionsgate does. I find it fishy because in the original press release these episodes were listed, but in the press release that was sent to us with this packaged review copy set, they are removed. So, we get 20 hours on each set instead of 22 hours each, plus the bonus NBC episodes. Each syndicated episode on both sets run approx. 43:40, and has the "Tonight on Baywatch" episode preview for each episode. The content is unedited I believe, but the music is missing according to the box. And you don't need the box to tell you that the opening theme has been replaced. That is not good! A theme called "All My Life" or something like that is the theme instead. I'm not sure if that is a new song made just for the DVD or if it is an existing song, but it sounds more of a theme used on a teen show (like 90210). What is even more strange is that a month back First Look sent us a promotional disc that included the last two episodes of syndicated season two and the NBC pilot, the two syndicated season two episodes HAD the original theme intact! So, what happened? This must have been a last minute thing. I am not a fan of syndicated season one, but I will talk about the episodes on syndicated season two. Some good episodes include "Pier Pressure," "Showdown at Malibu Beach High," "Masquerade," "Vacation, Parts 1 and 2," "Shattered, Parts 1 and 2," and "Fatal Exchange." The menu screen for both sets has Episodes & Set Up, with the replacement theme song in the background. We are greeted with a wave before the main menu starts and also when we select an option a wave transition is in effect. Four chapters are on each episode, and there are also scene selections. The video and audio are both very good. The extras are decent and are on disc five on both sets. On syndicated season one we have a photo gallery, the NBC pilot (which runs 95 minutes), and a featurette with the creators running 16 minutes. I will go in more detail for the extras in syndicated season two. They have a Baywatch Through the Years photo gallery, two NBC network episodes: "In Deep" (45:40) & "Heatwave" (46:15), and a How it Began featurette in which the creators (Michael Berk, Doug Schwartz, and Greg Bonann) discuss everything in detail. I am not sure if I can recommend this set for diehards. Diehards will be upset about the music replacement, the two missing two-part episodes, and the wonderful original theme. If you are a new or casual fan, then I do highly recommend to pick up this set. Syndicated season three is coming in February, that is the last season I really like, so I will review that one, too.
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(3/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Syndicated Season 1:
Amazon.com
Syndicated Season 2:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Baywatch TV.com Page


Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Volume 2 (Shout!, $29.98) brings the next 24 half hours on DVD for the very first time. Volume one was such a big success that Shout! rushed and has brought us volume two. This set is a four-disc set that has six episodes on each, plus bonus features on each disc. The episodes all run just under 22 minutes and include the live-action segments with Captain Lou Albano and Danny Wells as Mario & Luigi. In between the live action, there was a cartoon. The is the main feature of the show, but most probably remember the show for the live-action segments. The live action segments featured many guest stars. On this set we see Gary Schwartz, Sgt. Slaughter, Rob Stone, Donna Douglas, Brian Bonsell, Nedra Volz, Jim Lange, Fred Travalena, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Vanna White and even Patrick Dempsey. Though, Dempsey played a tree and was not seen really. The menu screen has Play All, Episodes, Special Features, with the theme song in the background and clips in the middle. The menu is designed quite well and is easy to navigate. There are about 7 chapter stops for each episode. The video and audio are both very good, but the video is slightly grainy (especially on the animated portion). Each disc has extras. Each disc has a bonus animated episode that runs approx. 14 minutes. These do not have any live-action segments. Each disc also has a "The Worlds of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show - Art Gallery." This shows us sketches of the animated portion, with music playing in the background. Each on average is about 3-5 minutes each. Disc one also has sketches from the live-action studio, titled "Interactive Tour of the Mario Bros. Plumbing." Disc three has a cute featurette called "Fan Costume Gallery," that is a photo gallery of many fans dressed up as characters from the show. And finally disc four has a feature from one fan's perspective titled "Meeting Mario: A Fan Tale's Featurette." This runs 3 minutes and has this fan giving his story on the night (March 28, 2006) that he met Captain Lou Albano at the Jersey Gardens mall in Elizabeth, NJ. Albano was appearing there to promote the volume one DVD. I live very close to that mall; I should have went and helped that fan with directions, as he got lost and went to Newark airport, lol. I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. If you never saw the show, pick it up because it is very fun! Hurry today and order the DVD before the DVD sells out!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Super Mario Bros. Super Show TV.com Page

Lifetime and Nick@Nite Schedule Notes; Mini-DVD Review: The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright

Lifetime has announced a schedule change, but it is ONLY for October 31-November 3. I think they will be testing sitcoms Still Standing and Reba a bit because the afternoon airings (12-2pm) of those shows will be moved to 7-9pm for these four days. The Golden Girls and The Nanny will take the afternoon slots on these four days. Maybe this is for more exposure for Still Standing and Reba to try and lure more of an audience? No idea, but we do know that this change is happening for four days next week. Click here to view them in a list form.
And Nick@Nite has announced that the end of the year marathon will be...The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air! Yes, you will see non-stop Fresh Prince from Dec. 11-14, all night (9pm-6am) long. What else did you think it was going to be? I thought it was for sure Fresh Prince, but Roseanne would have been an option as well.

Halloween is just around the corner and we will celebrate by giving you a review of The Munsters: First Family of Fright DVD set from Image Entertainment. See below for the review. But for now don't forget to watch a 25-hour marathon of The Munsters tomorrow on TV Land! Why 25-hours? Because tomorrow Daylight Savings time ends, so don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour. So we will get an extra hour of sleep! This marathon will sort of be a farewell marathon for the show since its contract expires after October 31 (how fitting).
And don't forget to watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC. The show will be uncut this year! Because it is the 40th anniversary for that classic special and like all Charlie Brown holiday specials, it is a tradition for Americans to watch it every year! It's your duty! Forget the World Series for an hour. The classic special will be followed by a bonus special, the 1972 show You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, since Election Day is right around the corner, too.

Today we take a look at Image Entertainment's The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright DVD. See Shawn Eaton's mini-DVD review of The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright.

The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright (Image, $18.99) brings us lots of information on the classic TV. The Munsters, America's first family of fright, rises from the grave to bring you a stellar set of extras, on this two-disc DVD compilation from Image Entertainment. The Munsters was a sitcom that aired from 1964 to 1966, running a total of 72 episodes, that featured Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, Yvonne DeCarlo as Lily Munster, Al Lewis as Grandpa, Butch Patrick as Eddie with Beverly Owen and Pat Priest sharing the duties of Marilyn. Debbie Watson would go on to play Marilyn in the film "Munster, Go Home." The main box art features a nice shot of The Munsters -- in color -- and in a photo frame. There are two discs in the set. The first disc contains four full-length documentaries.

Here's what is on the first disc:
* The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright (approx. 43 minutes), which is an actuality, the TV-ography, or Biography, that aired on the A&E channel and can also be found on the Season 2 box set of "The Munsters". It's a general summary of the series, from conception, to casting, until the end. A very nice documentary.
* Fred Gwynne: More Than A Munster (approx. 44 minutes), which again, is actually the A&E Biography of Fred Gwynne. This two, can also be found on the season 2 box set of "The Munsters." Topics range from his time on "Car 54, Where Are You?" to his time on "The Munsters" and his time afterwards, in which he was sadly type-casted.
* Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa (approx. 44 minutes), which is, once again, the A&E Biography of Al Lewis. This too can be found on Season 2 of "The Munsters" which is available on DVD. Topics discussed are his time on "The Munsters" as well as his time afterwards in which he was a restaurateur, a basketball scout and even a political candidate!
* Yvonne De Carlo: Gilded Lily (approx. 44 minutes), and for the fourth time, this is just the A&E Biography of Yvonne DeCarlo. This too can be found on the Season 2 box set of "The Munsters." Topic range from her time as a movie actress in the 1940s and 1950s to her time on "The Munsters" and it's filled with television clips, rare photos and interviews with family and friends.

The second disc contains all the fantastic bonus features! This one is a MUST have for hardcore fans of "The Munsters." Here is a rundown of what's available.
* "My Fair Munster" pilot presentation. When you select this, it takes you to a sub-menu where it lists two selections: "Presentation #1" which is the first unseen pilot for "The Munsters", which is 15 minutes in length. It's basically just "The Munsters" episode "My Fair Munster" with a different cast. Beverly Owen is Marilyn, Al Lewis is Grandpa and Fred Gwynne is Herman, but with Joan Marshall as Phoebe (not Lily) and Happy Derman as Eddie. You also get to see the opening credits. "Presentation #2" is more or less the same, same pilot premise, just with Yvonne DeCarlo as Lily. It runs about 10 minutes and opening credits are there too.
* The Munsters un-aired main title sequence with Portuguese subtitles. Just the opening credits. Runs about 46 seconds. The music is about the only thing different. It's the same music heard in the first season, just a little different, and it features a less made up Butch Patrick as Eddie.
* "Seven Wonderful Nights" is a CBS special that was hosted by Buddy Ebsen back in 1964. We only see the 2 minute segment that introduces "The Munsters."
* "CBS Network Promos" is what it says: promos. There are 4 to choose from.
* "Wayne and Schuster Take an Affectionate Look at the Monsters". It's a 4 minute segment in which they talk about "The Munsters" (or "Monsters" as it is spelled on the special).
* "Marineland Carnival" is a 1 minute promo of "The Munsters" going to Marineland.
* "Big G, Little O" is a 31 second commercial featuring Butch Patrick, Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo for the Cheerios cereal.
* "Munster, Go Home" the 2 minute theatrical trailer for "The Munsters" big screen flick.
* "Munster, Go Home" TV spots. There are 4 different commercials for the movie.
* "Syndication TV Spots" is what it says. There are 5 different commercials for "The Munsters" in syndication.
* "Universal Newsreels" there are three different newsreels. The first "New Studio Center" is a tour of Studio Center and features the Munsters house. It runs about 1 minute. The second "Santa's in Town" is another 1 minute news reel. And finally, "Movie Munsters" newsreel, which runs about 50 seconds is a newsreel about the Munsters movie.
* "It's What's Happening Baby" (with Murray The "K") - a strange commercial that runs about 2 minutes in length.
* "Bonus Interviews" - A list of interviews with Al Lewis, Yvonne De Carlo, Butch Patrick, Beverly Owen, Pat Priest and Debbie Watson. The menu for this selection lists the name and you can select them, and you go to another sub-menu which lets you select the topic they discuss. Most of them appear to be fairly new interviews. Al Lewis' appears to be from around 2000 or so. What's interesting is seeing Yvonne DeCarlo. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of her in the recent years! She has aged well but looks completely different! I almost didn't even recognize her! Fantastic interviews. A must see!
There are chapter skips on the documentaries. The picture varies, naturally. It's mostly in great condition, but for the lost pilot and promotional footage, it's clearly grainy at times and the color is off on some things, but that's to be expected.
In conclusion, this is an awesome set that any fan of "The Munsters" should own. The bonus material is just phenomenal! A must have!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton
(5/5 stars)

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

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Munsters TV.com Page

'Hogan Family' Gone Again From ABC Family; NBC Brings Back 'Scrubs', Moves '30 Rock'; More ABC News

ABC Family Channel has announced last minute schedule changes starting for next week. And yes, it is sort of bad news, especially if you are a fan of The Hogan Family, like I am. Effective Monday, they will remove the show and replace it with Boy Meets World. Boy Meets World's old 1-2pm slot will now be more Family Matters and Step by Step will replace Grounded for Life at 2-3pm. Grounded for Life will be off the weekday line-up, but it will still air on weekends. The weekend schedule will also be shifted a bit--mostly time changes, such as Boy Meets World going from 11am hour to 10am hour and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch gets a two-hour block from 12pm-2pm on the weekends. Sabrina seems to be doing well. It will also keep its weekdays 4-5pm slot. I suggest you click HERE to view the full list of changes because this is not anywhere on the internet yet. TV listings will start to pick up on it in the coming days, so you will find it here first! Let's just hope Hogan Family comes back soon or better yet on DVD.

Scrubs is returning to NBC after November sweeps ends, starting Thursday, November 30 And new sitcom 30 Rock will move from Wednesdays to Thursdays starting November 16, with an expanded 40-minute "super-sized" episode, joining 40-minute episodes of My Name Is Earl and The Office.
So, beginning November 30, NBC's Thursday-night lineup will be My Name Is Earl (8-8:30 p.m. ET); The Office (8:30-9 p.m. ET); Scrubs (9-9:30 p.m. ET); and 30 Rock (9:30-10 p.m. ET). ER will continue at 10-11 p.m. (ET). So, Deal or No Deal-Thursday is off the schedule. But NBC will likely pencil it on Tuesday (my guess for Friday Night Lights) or Wednesday very soon, in addition to its Monday slot. And where does this leave struggling new sitcom 20 Good Years? It looks like it is done, but NBC hasn't said anything. NBC will air specials Wednesdays 8-9pm starting November 22 and the week before that on November 15 The Biggest Loser is airing in that slot because Medium is getting a two-hour season premiere from 9-11pm. 20 Good Years' last scheduled appearance, as of now, is on November 8 at 8:30pm, but it might be off the schedule by then because of poor ratings.

Meanwhile, ABC has announced news on another slot that was TBD. New game show Show Me the Money hosted by William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) will debut November 22 and air Wednesdays at 8 p.m., a week after Dancing with the Stars finishes its third season. ABC has yet to announce what will take the Tuesday 8-9pm 'Stars' slot, but specials are slated for three weeks (November 21, 28, and December 5). If I were to guess, ABC will use fillers for the rest of December in that slot, or possibly plug in new According to Jim/George Lopez episodes for a few weeks, because I think in January we might see the game show Set For Life hosted by Jimmy Kimmel in that slot. Still no word on the date for the hilarious new sitcom The Knights of Prosperity, but I'd guess Tuesdays at 9 in January. It would work well out of Set for Life, if it gets that slot.