Wednesday, December 13, 2006
'Raymond' Co-Star Peter Boyle Passes Away at 71; Nick@Nite January 2007 Schedule
Mr. Boyle has starred or co-starred in many movies and has appeared on many TV series as a guest such as The King of Queens & Cosby (portraying his role from Raymond), The Single Guy, Lois & Clark, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, Flying Blind, Midnight Caller, Cagney & Lacey, and Tripping the Rift. He was a regular on two very short lived shows called Philly Heat and Joe Bash. He also had an infamous failed pilot called Poochinski, where Boyle starred as a hard boiled cop who was killed in the line of duty and his soul goes into the body of a dog he had befriended.
Lately he had been co-starring in a number of big motion pictures, as we mentioned the Santa Clause movie series, Scooby Doo 2, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Monsters Ball, and Dr. Dolittle. He even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1976, but it was Everybody Loves Raymond for who people will remember him for. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy series for 7 straight years (1999-2005). He never won an Emmy for the show but he did win an Emmy in 1996 for his guest spot on The X-Files and was also nominated in 1989 for his guest spot on Midnight Caller and his first nomination was in 1977 for the TV-movie Tail Gunner Joe.
While this is certainly shocking news for mostly everyone out there, let's look back and remember Mr. Boyle by watching his work. He will be deeply missed by not only the sitcom world, but everyone. He was 71.
Turning to Nick@Nite, they have released their January line-up and one thing stands out...no more off-the clock scheduling! Why? I think I know why. Nickelodeon is now running Nick@Nite. TV Land is not going to be overseeing Nick@Nite anymore, so Nickelodeon will be controlling the Nick@Nite block. Thus, we have no more off the clock scheduling. They have also removed shows that really don't fit the network. Designing Women, Murphy Brown and NewsRadio. All three will be removed after this week. We mentioned the latter two yesterday, but didn't mention Designing Women. That show was airing Thursday nights in the mini-marathon, but starting next week Fresh Prince minis will take over for the final two weeks in December. So, what will happen in January? Well, Nick@Nite will basically focus on four family-friendly shows that fit the Nickelodeon brand. They will have two back-to-back blocks of Full House, Roseanne, Fresh Prince and The Cosby Show. For example, Full House will air 9pm-10am and 1am-2am. The schedule after 11pm will be the same every night. Nick@Nite doesn't program 9-10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, so Full House will air 10-11pm, where Roseanne airs Sun-Thurs. So what happened to A Different World and Mad About You? They are around...sort of. They will share the 5am half-hour. Mad About You will air Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays; while A Different World will air Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Full House will remain at 5:30am, meaning Full House will now air the most with five airings a night. I guess with Nickelodeon now overseeing and programming the Nick@Nite block the amount of special programming and marathons will be limited, as in January there are none at all.
To see the full January 2007 line-up click HERE. I know we promised TV Land's January line-up today, but we are still working on a few details, so we hope to bring that to you tomorrow! So come back then to find out when M*A*S*H will air!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
'Mama's Family' Blocks on CMT; Nick@Nite Pulls 'Murphy', 'NewsRadio'
It is still not confirmed if they have any plans for Mama's Family to be a part of their regular line-up, as CMT has only released their scheduled through Jan. 7 thus far. But you can still watch Mama's Family on broadcast television on the i Network weeknights at 8 & 8:30 p.m.
Nick@Nite has made a schedule change for 5:30 a.m. Full House will start airing every morning at 5:30 a.m. starting this coming Monday night (early Tuesday morning), that will replace Murphy Brown which was airing late Mon-Fri and NewsRadio which was airing late Sat-Sun. Both shows will not be scheduled elsewhere, and thus is off the line-up.
In January Nick@Nite will have some minor schedule changes, and these two shows are not a part of the line-up. We will post January tomorrow, and TV Land January as well, which includes when M*A*S*H will air regularly. So come on back tomorrow for that!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Fox Finally Releasing 'WKRP' DVD Soon, 'The Loop' Also Coming; TBS Shuffles 'Mullally', 'Saved by the Bell'
UPDATE: TVShowsonDVD.com has given an update to our news saying the WKRP set is coming in April! They also say that SOME of the music will be indeed replaced. While fans might be a bit disappointed to hear that, the creator of the series has heard some of the replaced music and has given the thumbs up on it. At least we will have some original music though. Let's just hope there is no edits in the content of the show. Click here to view the story.
Looks like The Megan Mullally Show cable encores are not doing well for TBS at 8 AM because as of Dec. 6 they moved the show quietly to 6 AM, and shifting Saved by the Bell from 6-8am to 7-9am. And starting Feb. 1, it seems Mullally will be gone, and replaced by The Cosby Show and The Drew Carey Show from 6-7am weekdays. So Drew is back once more. I believe Drew expires in fall 2007, so this will be its last hurrah unless they renew.
Be sure to come back tomorrow as we will tell you a sitcom that is coming to CMT. Yes, CMT...and no it will NOT be Evening Shade or Jeff Foxworthy Show. We also will likely have TV Land and Nick@Nite January sometime this week...so this will be a big week and you don't want to miss a day, so come back every single day!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Week 12 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 7.8/12.3; NBC: 6.3/9.9; ABC: 5.3/8.3; Fox: 4.2/6.4; The CW: 2.4/3.7.
Total Viewers: CBS: 12.03 million; NBC: 9.86 million; ABC: 7.96 million; Fox: 6.29 million; The CW: 3.6 million.
Adults 18-49: NBC: 3.8/10.1; CBS: 3.7/9.9; ABC: 2.8/7.5; Fox: 2.5/6.5; The CW: 1.6/4.1.
Analysis: The twelfth week saw repeats filtering in with some new episodes here and there. CBS has won households and viewers for 11 straight weeks, and will again this week despite some repeat programming. NBC will likely win Adults 18-49 because of the NFL game this Sunday. As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. CBS has the top spot so far with NBC in second and ABC with repeat mode for all of its big guns in third, still beating the pathetic fall for Fox. On Monday, CBS's CSI: Miami was a repeat and still won the hour easily with 11.58 million, and NBC's Heroes at 9 p.m. was again strong in the 18-49 demo with a 6.5/15 and decent in total viewers with 14.94 million...both down from last week and this was the fall finale; I wonder what will happen come January when Fox's 24 is in the mix? NBC's Deal or No Deal led the night off for NBC with a dominating first place finish and did 17.37 million, slightly down from last week. NBC's Studio 60 is still not doing good with just 7.33 million...only up a few thousand from last week despite CBS in repeats. CBS sitcoms were all in repeats, but the 8pm hour was not good, even if it were repeats a 2.0/6 average in 18-49 is not good for CBS Monday comedies. Two and a Half Men rose from those weak numbers and did 11.55 million for a repeat. Fox did bad for the Billboard Music Awards doing just 6.09 million, down from the usual Fox Monday. ABC saw decent numbers for Mondays as Wife Swap did 7.86 million, down from last week's 8.87 million and the season premiere of Supernanny showed some legs with 9.64 million, almost right on par from last week's Bachelor finale. Tuesday it was a four-network race for the top spot. The ABC special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town opened decently and did 11.05 million, but then the sitcoms Big Day and Help Me Help You wasn't so hot, as they did 6.31 and 5.02 million each. A new Boston Legal doubled from the lead-in and closed the night out with a first place finish of 10.17 million. Fox is doing bad with Standoff leading off but even a repeat of House came back strong and did 11.77 million, building over 5 million from its lead-in--to help Fox nip ABC for total viewers for the night with 8.98 million to ABC's 8.96 million. NBC was in repeats from 9-11pm as at 10pm Law & Order: SVU did a nice 10.08 for a repeat million while an all-new Friday Night Lights continues to under-perform at just 6.13 million, costing NBC the night. Law & Order: CI at 9 p.m. was a repeat and did did 7.93 million, as NBC averaged 8.05 million for the night. CBS was in repeats for NCIS and The Unit, and was still decent with 10.99 and 9.03 million, the Victoria's Secret special at 10 p.m. tumbled and did just 6.78 million making CBS's nightly average go down to 8.93 million, third for the night. Wednesday saw CBS dominate even if its top two guns were in repearts. ABC's Show Me the Money and Day Break continue to perform below expectations, with Money doing 7.1 million and Break just 4.46 million...the latter will be pulled after this month. NBC had an OK Wednesday with The Biggest Loser 3 doing 9.37 million at 9pm but 8pm did just 6.84 million. The out of place Medium did just 8.58 million for an all-new episode. Why not move this to Monday at 10 again? CBS won each hour, as the return of The King of Queens did very good with 9.42 and 10.17 million...this is what CBS Monday 8-9pm should be doing. Criminal Minds and CSI: NY both did very good for repeats and did 13.85 and 12.66 million each. The CW's America's Next Top Model finale did VERY well for the network and did 6.19 million and an impressive 3.0/9 A18-49 rating for second place for the hour behind CBS! Fox did OK business with two Bones repeats did 6.38 and 6.1 million, as this show quietly does well. On Thursday we saw CBS dominate with all-new episodes, as ABC was in repeats from 8-10pm this week. ABC's Grey's Anatomy repeat did 10.55 million at 9pm and in the same slot a new episode of CSI benefited and had 23.25 million. NBC aired all-new episodes of comedies from 8-10pm and did decent for the first hour but saw bleeding from Scrubs and especially 30 Rock, but better than last week. At 8 p.m. ABC continues to do well with Ugly Betty, as the one-hour comedy did decent again with 8.66 million for a repeat; Survivor did 15.72 million but just slightly up from last week despite ABC in repeats. When Survivor finishes, look for the best new comedy to do even better. At 10 p.m. newbie Shark was all-new and did 13.98 million. ER was new and did just 12.02 million, 30 Rock is not helping it. ABC saw decent retention at 10 p.m. with an all-new Men in Trees doing a solid 8.28 million, not bad after a GA repeat. And Fox saw pathetic numbers with 'Til Death and another (save us!) episode of The O.C.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS and NBC share the night with CBS's holiday specials and NBC's Law & Order and Las Vegas. CBS's NUMB3RS finished last place at 10 p.m. for a repeat. ABC did better than usual from 9-11pm with Primetime and 20/20. And The CW and Fox battled for last place. Saturday ratings saw everyone doing bad, with CBS winning in viewers and Fox's line-up in 18-49. Heroes encores did pathetic for NBC from 8-10pm. As for tonight, CBS, ABC and NBC will likely share a win, but ABC's Desperate Housewives is not on tonight, but the rest of the ABC line-up is all new, including a special two-hour Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I expect a close finish in the demo between ABC and NBC and CBS will prevail in total viewers most likely.
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3)
- Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - A repeat and new episode did decent, but down from last week. The repeat did just 2.37 million and a new episode built on that and did 3.4 million, still the highest rated CW sitcom.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - 8.17 million tuned in for a repeat after the BCS Selection Show.
- American Dad (Fox) - 6.77 million tuned in for a repeat at a special time of 9:30 p.m.
- Family Guy (Fox) - An encore dropped some from the lead-in and did 7.77 million.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 6.46 million for a repeat is not good for a CBS Monday comedy.
- The Class (CBS) - 5.91 million only for a repeat. Will The King of Queens move back to Mondays in January?
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.55 million for a repeat still makes this sitcom the highest rated sitcom...how sad.
- New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 9.25 million for an encore broadcast.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. Repeat episode of Chris started it off with 2.18 million, the highest of the block. The rest ranged 1.86 to 2.13 million--consistent.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Big Day (ABC) - 6.31 million tuned in for the much funnier second episode, down from the premiere's 7.55 million. Let's hope it doesn't drop further.
- Help Me Help You (ABC) - Only 5.0 million last week, this week it did a bit better with 5.02 million, still not good.
- The King of Queens (CBS) 2 episodes - The show is back and CBS must be happy as the show did very well! 9.42 and 10.17 million for first place and also a first place finish in households (6.2/10, 6.6/10) and 18-49 (3.2/9 and 3.6/10). This show is way stronger than the 8-9pm shows on Mondays, quite sad is this show is in its 9th season now.
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - 10.04 million for a one-hour episode is great.
- Scrubs (NBC) - With a stronger lead-in this week, the show jumped from last week's 7.72 million to this week's decent 8.38 million.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - Up from last week's 5.97 million to 6.84 million, not bad but needs to be much better and it is not helping 10pm at all.
- 'Til Death (Fox) 2 episodes - Repeats did 3.91 and 378 million.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
Airing tonight (Sunday) are a mix of new and repeats of Fox comedies and Reba on The CW.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The King of Queens, My Name is Earl and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as 30 Rock and Scrubs) or just plain old terrible (such as Help Me Help You and a repeat of The Class).
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Mini-DVD Reviews: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 6 (Dec. 5) and Thundercats Season 2, Volume 2 (Nov. 28)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Volume 6 (Lionsgate, $14.98) brings the final 11 episodes from the series' third season and the season premiere for season four. Like we mentioned in our Volume 5 mini-DVD review, the third season had a total of 47 episodes, so there was no way to do this show in season format. Season one had 5 episodes, so that was on Volume 1. For season 2 there were just 13 episodes, so Lionsgate released that for volume two. But starting in Volume 3 they I guess decided they would release 12 episodes for a set. Volumes 3, 4 and 5 have 12 episodes each from season three. So, 11 remain from that season and are on this current volume (volume 6). Also on this volume is the season premiere from season four. Season four has a total of 39 episodes, so 38 episodes remain of season four after this volume. They'll have to release a few more volumes to finish season four. Maybe 12-13 episodes each. Seasons 5-10 do not have as many episodes as seasons three and four, so it will get better if we get that far. The episodes on this volume are the final 11 from season three and first one from season four: "The Turtle Terminator," "The Great Boldini," "The Missing Map," The Gang's All Here," "The Grybyx," "Mr. Ogg Goes to Town," "Shredderville," "Bye Bye Fly," "The Big Rip-Off," "The Big Break-In," "The Big Blow Out," "Plan 6 from Outer Space." Each episode runs approx. 22:15 or so, some more, some less. The menu screen has an opening animation which is quite nice with the options of Play All Episodes and Episode Selection, with the theme playing (loops) in the background. When we go to episode selection, there is a cool fade with music, saying "heroes in a half shell, Turtle Power!" If you have the first five volumes, there is no stopping you in buying this volume. The video is on par with the other volumes, with dust and debris here and there (lots of white flashing dots from time to time), but the audio is decent. The video needs improvement and Lionsgate needs to fix this. The first episode of season four looked much better but still needs work in video. Hopefully Lionsgate releases the episodes a bit faster since we are only getting one-disc sets. The packaging is the same style as the last few volumes, a single case. Lionsgate needs to fix the video because it looks really VHS style. Other than that, the set is fine. Some extras would be nice and more episodes also. They should take note from Warner Home Video and BCI, who handled Thundercats and He-Man both very well. They both had 65 episode seasons and released two volumes for a season and even had extras. We will review those two sets' final volumes today (Thundercats, see below) and next week (He-Man).
I still urge fans to buy this set despite the video issues, because surprisingly this show is not on TV at all these days (it has been a while, too), so this is the only way to see them. The set was released this past Tuesday, click on the link below to purchase the thrilling final 11 episodes from season three and the continuation of the story on the first episode of season four! Hurry before Shredder and the gang return from Dimension X!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(3/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV.com Page
Thundercats - Season 2, Volume 2 (Warner, $64.98) brings the final 31 episodes from the series' second and final season. Warner Home Video has done a nice job with this series. The series had two seasons, but each season had 65 episodes each. This was a first-run syndicated series and aired weekdays after school in the 80s, so every day was basically a new episode. WHV had two volumes for each season, which was a smart move. So, of the 130 episodes, we got them on just four six-disc sets...not bad at all. Plus extras were included. And now the final episodes are on DVD, meaning we have the entire series now on DVD!In these finale episodes we have lots of action and adventure with episodes like the 5-part episode, "The Return of Thundera" and the final episode "The Book of Omens." It was so much fun back then watching this show, and it still is. Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, Tygra, Wilykat,, Snarf and the rest of the gang battle the evil Mumm-Ra. Back in the 80s I always thought Mumm-Ra and Skeletor from He-Man were so similar. The menu screen has the options of Play All, Episodes, Special Features and Languages, with the instrumental theme playing (loops) in the background. When we go to episode selection, the episodes on the disc are listed. Special Features option is on each disc, but there are only extras on the last disc. Languages option has an option to listen in English or French and have subtitles in Spanish. If you have the first three sets, then you must buy this set to find out how the series ends. The video is on par with the other volumes and the audio is also decent. The packaging is the same style as the other sets, a nice outer box with three cases inside. On the episode itself, each one runs around 22:15 or so. The 5-five part episode ("Return to Thundera") has the special intro that aired before the opening credits introducing what will happen this week. Parts 1-4 at the end (before the closing credits) has the "in the next episode" preview, while parts 2-5 has "in the last episode" recap before the opening credits. Nice job, Warner. Part 4 runs 21:25, but I'm sure nothing is edited. There are no chapters...which is not good. All sets should have this. Closing logos are intact with Rankin Bass and Lorimar-Telepictures. As for extras, they are all on disc six. Disc six starts off with auto-trailers, showing us some movie trailers such as TMNT coming March 30, 2007--I had no idea another Turtles movie was coming! I'm happy! There are also Previews in the Special Features section for other animated DVD sets. The real extra is "Thundercats Ultimate Adventure Challenge." It has a 1:06 intro narrated by Lion-O and explains what we have to do. We have to find the hidden path by answering a series of questions and riddles to defeat Mumm-Ra, if we fail he will rule the planet. So, get your brains ready!
This is truly a great set and please buy this set to help Lion-O defeat Mumm-Ra in this final showdown on Third Earth. Let's beat this Ancient Spirit of Evil once and for all!
-- 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
Thundercats TV.com Page
Friday, December 08, 2006
'The Waltons' Return to the Hallmark Channel; TV Land/Nick@Nite January Status
We have gotten a lot of questions on TV Land and Nick@Nite's January schedules. They have not been officially released yet still, but I can tell you there will be no changes on Nick@Nite but the "off-the-clock" times will finally be gone, so you can catch your shows on the right times now. I don't think there are any stunts or specials either for Nick@Nite January.
As for TV Land, they have a huge M*A*S*H launch week planned for Jan. 1-7, with classic M*A*S*H episodes, the M*A*S*H theatrical movie, the series finale, the 20th anniversary special, and the 30th anniversary special airing between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. on that week. During the day (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.), catch an assortment of M*A*S*H actors on other shows like Gunsmoke, The Andy Griffith Show, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and more. We will have the official news when released on the entire month, including the regular time-slot for M*A*S*H.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
What's Happening!! Returns to TV Land Line-Up TONIGHT; i Network Returns 'Charlie's Angels', Other Changes
The i Network continues to make changes week to week with their line-up. Growing Pains, which has been extended already this week at 9 p.m., will be extended for the week of Dec. 11-14 now, too, but this time in the 7 p.m. hour replacing Amen for the week. Amen is slated to return to its slot the week of Dec. 18, as of now. coming back after a few weeks off from the regular line-up is Charlie's Angels, but not in its old 9 p.m. slot. Now it will air at 10 p.m. until further notice, replacing Diagnosis Murder, which will shift to 9 p.m. until further notice.
For the full changes, click HERE, it also includes a holiday special night on Dec. 15 filled with specials, Mama's Family and a movie.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
ABC Family Returns 'Smallville' to Line-up This January; Full Top 100 Catchphrases List for TV Land Special
TV Land has given the entire list for The 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases which premieres over five consecutive nights starting on Monday, December 11th at 10 P.M. ET/PT. If you want to be spoiled and want to see the list, click HERE. Read at your own risk! And we of course knew Yabba dabba do!, Here's Johnny!, D'oh! and Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis? would make the top 10. So, I'm not spoiling you!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
ABC Announces Timeslots for New & Returning Sitcoms, 'Knights', ' Emergency', 'Jim' & 'George', 'Lost' Moves to 10PM; Minor i Network Update
ABC has not released yet on what they plan to do with other nights, such as Fridays. Tuesdays at 9 is also a question mark right now, as Big Day and Help Me Help You are scheduled, but the latter will be done with its episode order in early January. When that happens, I expect ABC to double-run Big Day until it finishes its 13 episodes. Still no word on time slots for The Nine and Six Degrees, both of which were promised to return at some point; I can see them airing on Fridays or Saturdays.
ABC will bring another installment of the popular Dancing with the Stars this March. Also on ABC mid-season is Notes from the Underbelly - a new sitcom that will likely be paired with the 90 minute Dancing with the Stars performance show; Traveler - a fast paced drama will air for eight weeks this March; and a few reality/game shows such as Just for Laughs & Set for Life.
Click here for the press release that ABC released today.
Meanwhile, the i Network has slated Christmas episodes of past shows Sue Thomas F.B.eye and Doc this Friday from 9-11pm. Growing Pains is still scheduled to run 9-10pm all this week, until Thursday. No idea yet if Charlie's Angels will return next week, or if they will continue Growing Pains. We should have an answer later this week and maybe the January line-up, too. So keep checking back.
Monday, December 04, 2006
i Network Continues 'Growing Pains'; Watchoo Talkin' 'bout TV Land: JustMyShow.com Debates 'Catchphrase' Special
Our good friend Eric from the online show Just My Show has put up a bonus interview today. It is a group discussion on TV Land's 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases, which airs all next week at 10 p.m. The discussion of the pros and cons of this list are done by William Sanderson (Newhart), whose catchphrase from that show made the top 100 list; USA Today's Whitney Matheson (who by the way wrote a nice article on John Ritter some years back that I just loved); and TV Party's Billy Ingram. It is an interesting discussion and debate, and I'm sure you all had a catchphrase or two that you thought should have made the list and maybe a few that should not have. Anyway, listen to the discussion by clicking here.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Week 11 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 8.7/13.5; ABC: 6.9/10.7; NBC: 6.8/10.5; Fox: 4.9/7.5; The CW: 2.4/3.7.
Total Viewers: CBS: 13.78 million; NBC: 10.61 million; ABC: 10.48 million; Fox: 7.85 million; The CW: 3.75 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 4.1/10.6; NBC: 4.0/10.3; ABC: 3.8/9.7; Fox: 3.1/7.8; The CW: 1.6/4.1.
Analysis: Last week we didn't have final numbers in time, but we are back for week 11! The eleventh week saw the last three days of November sweeps and the start of holiday repeat season, but ABC was all-new on that first day and dominated, but ABC faltered without Dancing with the Stars and Lost the last two weeks. CBS has won households and viewers for 10 straight weeks, and will again this week. ABC has won adults 18-49 each week (though week 7 NBC came back with a strong NFL game and virtually tied ABC), but looks like it will be close this week, as ABC Sunday is repeats...ABC did have a strong Friday. As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. CBS has the top spot so far with ABC and NBC battling for second and Fox continues to be well back in fourth. On Monday, CBS's CSI: Miami shined with 17.13 million, and NBC's Heroes at 9 p.m. was again strong in the 18-49 demo with a 6.8/16 and decent in total viewers with 15.56 million. NBC's Deal or No Deal led the night off for NBC with a dominating first place finish and did 17.7 million, what is with this show doing this well? NBC's Studio 60 is still not doing good with just 7.27 million...I don't see this lasting for February sweeps. CBS sitcoms opened the night with OK numbers and the number one sitcom Two and a Half Men rose from that and did 15.5 million. Fox did usual business for Prison Break's fall finale and at 9 p.m. a repeat of House did decent with 7.28 million. ABC saw better than average numbers for Mondays as a highly advertised Wife Swap did 8.87 million and the season finale of The Bachelor shows some spunk with 9.85 million . Tuesday, now that Dancing with the Stars is gone, CBS and Fox will share the lead. But first, I'll start with ABC. The special A Charlie Brown Christmas was no Stars, but opened decently and did 13.01 million, but then the premiere of new sitcom Big Day and the rookie sitcom Help Me Help You wasn't so hot, as they did 7.55 and 5.0 million each. I think they will take 7.55 million, but 5.0 million is terrible. Fox is doing bad with Standoff leading off but House came back strong and did 17.3 million, building over 12 million from its lead-in--talk about coming back! NBC was strong at 10 p.m. as Law & Order: SVU did a nice 14.64 million while Friday Night Lights continues to under-perform at just 6.18 million, though up from recent airings. Law & Order: CI did 9.76 million. CBS won the night thanks to NCIS and The Unit, but 3LBS did just 7.97 million, and has been pulled. That is CBS for you. You get under 8 million, they cancel you. No other network would do that. Wednesday saw CBS dominate. ABC missed Dancing with the Stars: The Results, as Show Me the Money and Day Break both didn't perform up to expectations, with Money doing 7.69 million and Break just 4.73 million. NBC had a better Wednesday than usual with the special Christmas at Rockefeller Center doing very well with 9.43 million, boosting The Biggest Loser 3 to 9.2 million but the out of place Medium dropped to 8.01 million. Why not move this to Monday at 10 again? CBS won each hour, as the fall finale of Jericho did decent with 10.25 million, but it should have been better. Criminal Minds and CSI: NY both did very good though and made up for that with 17.92 and 16.43 million each. The CW's America's Next Top Model did VERY well for the network and did 5.73 million and an impressive 2.8/8 A18-49 rating beating ABC and NBC for the hour. Fox did better with a Bones repeat at 9 following an all-new Bones, which did 8.66 million--impressive, as this show quietly does well. On Thursday we saw ABC dominate with all-new episodes. ABC's Grey's Anatomy had 24.01 million at 9pm and in the same slot a repeat of CSI had 16.08 million (GA won in HH 15.2/23 to 10.0/15 and GA won in A18-49 9.5/23 to 5.0/12). NBC aired comedies from 8-10pm and did decent for the first hour but saw bleeding from Scrubs and especially 30 Rock, which was picked up for a full season. NBC should switch those shows, as 30 Rock is not helping ER. At 8 p.m. ABC continues to do well with Ugly Betty, as the one-hour comedy did decent again with 13.02 million; Survivor did 15.63 million though.When Survivor finishes, look for the best new comedy to do even better. At 10 p.m. newbie Shark was a repeat and did 10.32 million. ER was new and did 13.36 million. ABC saw second place at 10 p.m. with the time period premiere of Men in Trees doing a solid 11.34 million..ABC hopes it can get that each week, 11-12 million would be fine. And Fox saw pathetic numbers with 'Til Death and another (save us!) episode of The O.C.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw ABC dominating thanks to the network television premiere of the Tom Hanks holiday movie The Polar Express. NBC did decent with the two-hour Las Vegas episode. CBS was a distant third this week rather than the usual first place, Ice Wars special didn't do much and a repeat of NUMB3RS finished last place at 10 p.m. And The CW and Fox battled for last place. Saturday ratings saw everyone doing bad, as last week ABC did very well for Notre Dame vs. USC, but it did bad this week for Oklahoma-Nebraska. As for tonight, CBS and NBC will likely share a win, as ABC's Desperate Housewives is a repeat, along with the rest of the ABC line-up, though Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will have some new segments in tonight's encore. I expect a close finish in the demo and CBS will prevail in total viewers.
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Nov. 20-26)
- Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - A repeat and new episode did decent, but down from the premiere. The repeat did 2.66 million and a new episode built on that and did 3.89 million, the highest rated CW sitcom.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - With the NFL as its lead-in, an all-new episode did a solid 10.93 million and a 5.0/12 18-49 rating.
- American Dad (Fox) - 8.76 million. I still say move this back to 9:30 in January and have the return of King of the Hill here at 8:30.
- Family Guy (Fox) - Built back up from lead-in with 9.49 million.
- War at Home (Fox) - 6.92 million, but this show will be tested Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 9.85 million, but it should be doing close to 11 million really.
- The Class (CBS) - 8.72 million is better than usual, but CBS should be near 10 million at least for this show.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.5 million...number one sitcom still.
- New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 12.01 million for an all-new episode..not bad at all.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. All new episodes of Chris started it off with 3.28 million, the highest of the block. The rest ranged 2.83 to 3.03 million--consistent.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Big Day (ABC) - 7.55 million for the premiere, not great but not bad either..could have been better. ABC hopes it can stay around 7.55 million or build on it this week. A big drop would not be good, say 6 million.
- Help Me Help You (ABC) - Only 5.0 million, almost 50% down from what it did with a huge lead-in. Looks like 13 and out.
- None.
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - 9.49 million...decent. Also a decent 4.1/11 A18-49 rating.
- The Office (NBC) - 9.07 million is decent but an impressive build from lead-in on 18-49 with a 4.4/11 rating.
- Scrubs (NBC) -The season premiere did OK with 7.72 million and a 3.6/9 A18-49 rating.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - Time slot premiere of this show did not hold the 9pm lead-in much with 5.97 million and a 2.7/7 A18-49 rating. NBC should swap the shows in the 9pm hour.
- 'Til Death (Fox) 2 episodes - 4.77 million tuned in at 8pm for a new episode, not good but steady. The repeat at 8:30pm held steady and did 4.78 million.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Fox comedies and Reba on The CW.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, My Name is Earl and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Big Day and Scrubs) or just plain old terrible (such as Help Me Help You and 'Til Death).
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Mini-DVD Reviews: Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series (Dec. 5) and The Best of Match Game (Nov. 21)
Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series (BCI Eclipse, $54.98)
An enchanted roller coaster delivers six youth into the magical realm of Dungeons & Dragons in this extraordinary animated series based on the popular TSR role-playing game. There, each of them gains magical talents and abilities, all the better to survive their time in the realm. The bow-shooting ranger, the acrobat, the thief, the cavalier, the boy wizard, and the barbarian are soon joined by a baby unicorn, and tutored by the mysterious and inscrutable dungeon master. Opposing them is the evil sorcerer Venger, as well as various ogres, demons, bounty hunters, dragons, lizard men, skeleton warriors, and more. All intent on keeping the kids from getting back home!
My Review: Although I was never really into playing the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game (my brother played it often), I watched the animated series religiously. The good thing about the animated series is that you didn't really have to be familiar with the game that seemed pretty complex to a 9-year-old kid. There was just a lot of action and adventure, and the characters and storylines were interesting. The animated series, which aired on CBS for 3 seasons from 1983-1986, featured the voices of sitcom actors Donny Most, Willie Aames and Adam Rich.
The packaging for this 5-disc set, which contains all 27 of the series, is beautiful. It comes in a box similiar to the old role-playing game. It has a red background and an embossed Dungeons & Dragons logo and glossy cast photo. On the back of the box, there is a drawing of Venger, a synopsis of the set and a listing of the many special features. When you lift up the top of the box, there are various booklets and sheets included and the main DVD box. "Dungeons & Dragons - Animated Series Handbook" is 32 pages full of character profiles, stats, magic items and a brand new adventure. The only problem with this is that my booklet came apart before I had opened the box. Hopefully that is just an isolated incident. Also, included is an excellent 8-page episode guide booklet that has the episode titles, writing credits, original airdates, very detailed summaries and a listing of the special features. One of the best episode guide booklets that I've seen for any set. The main box features the original 1983 promotional poster for the series on the front and the Dungeons & Dragons world map on the back. The discs are held in 3 separate holders that have Venger's castle in the background. They feature photos of the characters on each disc: Hank on #1, Diana #2, Eric on #3, Sheila and Bobby on #4, and Presto on #5.
Just like the rest of the packaging, the menus are well designed and easy to navigate. The main menus on each disc each feature a different pair of characters and have some intrumental music played in the background. There is a Play All or Episodes option. When you select Episodes, it takes you to another menu where the episodes are listed vertically. Episode titles, writing credits, original airdates and summaries are listed and there is a small video clip from the episode in the top left. There is also a Chapters section for each episode that has some trivia in the "Uni's Fun Facts" section. My only problem with the trivia is that it is in really small text and hard to read.
I was very impressed with the video and audio quality. They've clearly been remastered for the best possible picture. Audio is a Dolby Digital track that offers no major problems. These episodes feature the original opening and ending credit sequences. Some of the other alternate opening and ending credits can be found in the special features section. These episodes do not have the opening episode teasers that some (all?) of the episodes originally had when they were first broadcast on CBS, although again there are 2 of them in the special features area. Another issue is that they all run around 22 minutes. I think shows from the 1983-1986 era ran several minutes longer than that. These episodes might be from when they were syndicated for FoxKids several years ago. They have the FoxKids logo at the end of them.
There is an impressive amount and variety of special features included (mostly on disc 5). Here is the breakdown:
"The Night of No Tomorrow" Commentary by Producer Bob Richardson, Story Editor and Voice Director Hank Saryoyan, Writer Mark Evanier, and CBS Exectuves Ted Field II and Judy Price. Hosted by Special Features Andy Mangels. They discuss how it came to TV, the controversy over the show and the game, the writer's involvement with the show and the voice casting.
"The Dragon's Graveyard" Commentary by Writer Michael Reaves and Special Features Producer Andy Mangels. This commentary is more scene specific than the other. They talk about various topics including his involvement with the show, the music, Frank Welker and other details.
Entering The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons (33:04) - This all-new documentary features interviews with Former CBS Director of Children's Programming Ted Field II, Story Editor & Voice Director Hank Saroyan, Producer Bob Richardson, Writer & Development Mark Evanier, Writer Buzz Dixon, Writer Michael Reeves, Designer & Storyboard Artist Bob Kline and Storyboard Artists Michael Swannigan. Some of the details were given in the commentaries, but there is a lot of new details as well. They talk about how the show was created and the characters developed, the voice casting, the Dekion character, the changes from seasons 1-3, why the show was canceled, and the fans of the series. It closes with a funny story about Willie Aames and some Dungeon Master quotes.
"Requiem" Radio Show (35:24) - This is a radio show-style presentation of the never produced final episode, "Requiem." It features the voices or original cast member Katie Leigh (Sheila, The Thief) and her daughter Laura Leigh as Diana, Daniel Roebuck, Buster Roebuck, Neil Kaplan and Wally Wingert. This section includes the original script of the episode that you can follow along as you listen. Many fans would probably have loved to see the finale as an actual episode, but that would probably be too expensive to produce. This seems like the next best thing.
Character Profiles - There are 50 detailed profiles of various characters (30), creatures (10) and artifacts (10). There is a photo and text information for each profile, along with a sample video clip.
Alternate Openings / Credits & Rare Footage - This footage was recovered from various sources, so it is not the high quality of the remastered episodes. They are fun to watch.
Remastered Introduction (1:00); Introduction #01 (1:00), Introduction #02 (1:00), Introduction #03 (:57), Remastered End Credits (:28), End Credits #01 (:28), End Credits #02 (:27), End Credits #03 (:27), The Lost Children Episode Teaser (:28), The Hall of Bones Episode Teaser (:25)
Animated Storyboard for episode #14 "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow" - This animated storyboard contains three different viewing angles which compare the original storyboard to to the finished episode. You can choose Storyboard, Episode or Side by Side.
Dungeons & Dragon's Interactive Adventure: "Kelek's Crystal" - A "Choose Your Own Adventure" style game with text and various video clips.
Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Fan Film (4:27) - A short film by Sean Kennedy. This sort of reminded me of the Dungeons & Dragons movie from a few years ago, which was largely forgettable except for some decent special effects and a great score. This short also had some nice special effects and music for a fan film.
Galleries - You can scroll through 64 model sheets and 22 memorabilia photos with your DVD remote arrow buttons.
DVD-Rom Features include scripts, storyboards and the series' development bible (PC/MAC Readable)
Easter Eggs - The press releases list that there are some, but I didn't have a chance to find any of them yet.
Ink & Paint Trailers - This section brought back lots of memories. It has tons of trailers (and opening credit sequences) for series like He-Man and the Masters of The Universe, She-ra Princess of Power, Flash Gordon, Groovie Goolies and many more.
Final Comments: I was really excited to hear about this set being released several months ago. I grew up watching it as a kid but really hadn't seen it a number of years. Overall, this is a beautifully produced set. The packaging, menus and artwork are outstanding and the special features are sure to be entertaining to any fan of the series. All of the episodes have excellent remastered video and audio. My only concern is that these episodes appear not to be the complete episodes as originally broadcast on CBS. The loss of the opening episode teasers (or the season 2-3 credits which are included as a bonus) is not a major concern, but these episodes look to have the same running times as the episodes shown on FoxKids and JETIX/Toon Disney in recent years. This is what they were provided, so I guess there is not much they could do about it. I would recommend this set for the special features and booklets alone, but I won't be tossing my VHS copies from the original broadcasts.
-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
(4.5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons - The Animated Series
Dungeons & Dragons TV.com Page
The Best of Match Game (BCI Eclipse, $34.98)
The Best of Match Game (BCI, $34.98) is such an DVD set that you will love so much that you might just (BLANK) it! The DVD set is a four disc set that contains 30 unedited (though reportedly time-compressed) episodes that were selected as the "best episodes" from the version of the show that was hosted by Gene Rayburn and aired from 1973 until 1982 on CBS (though in later seasons in syndication), including the primetime version Match Game PM. The episodes feature many great celebrity panelists that sitcom fans should recognize, including Jack Klugman, Vicki Lawrence, Betty White, McLean Stevenson, Eva Gabor, Marcia Wallace, Nancy Kulp, Ed Asner, Robert Donner, Bill Macy, Richard Gautier, Bill Daily, Jimmie Walker, and many more! And there are even a few episodes on the set featuring an interior decorator from Kansas named Kirstie Alley... before she was a celebrity! And of course, the show wouldn't be complete without the regulars, including Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Richard Dawson (in the earlier years). For those unfamiliar with the game, it is simple really. Two contestants face off against each other and are given a question that has no right or wrong answer where they must fill in the blank. The idea is to come up with an answer that will be the same as the six celebrity panelists. Whichever contestant wins gets to go on to a bonus round where they can win anywhere from $5000 to $20,000 (depending upon which version of the rules are in play for the particular season).
If the episodes aren't enough, there are also special features on the set, including many interviews with Brett Somers. Each disc has a "Best Moments of Match Game" featurette, hosted by Somers, where she talks about the best clips from the episodes on that disc. Additionally, Disc 4 has "A Tribute to Gene Rayburn" (where Somers talks about the Rayburn), "Photo Gallery," "Exclusive Interview With Brett Somers" (which is just a general interview with Somers about the show), and even the original 1962 pilot of the original NBC version of "The Match Game" that ran in the 1960s (also hosted by Gene Rayburn). But just so fans that have never seen this version of the show know, that version is nothing like the 1970s version, and is honestly pretty boring compared to the 1970s version!
There is one thing that is slightly annoying about this set. There are many Match Game episodes in which the game is not completed by the end of the episode and the contestants would need to come back on the next episode to complete it... but with only 30 episodes selected from several years worth of episodes, it makes it rather difficult (if not impossible) to keep the whole episode together. Also, it isn't clear why these episodes were selected as the "best" episodes, but that is understandable because there are too many episodes to truly go through each and every episode and select the truly best episodes. Besides that, the episodes on the set are good anyway, except for some of the earlier ones with the bland and boring questions. Regardless, for somebody that is a Match Game fanatic or for somebody that is a game show fanatic that does not have GSN (like me), this is a great DVD set to have in your collection! It would be nice to see more Match Game DVD sets or perhaps sets for other classic game shows, particularly the Goodson-Todman game shows!
-- Reviewed by skees53
(5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Friday, December 01, 2006
TV Land Note, TVLand.com's 'That Girl' Launches Today; 30 Rock Gets Full-Season; Win a 'Roseanne' S6 DVD From Us!
But not to fear That Girl fans, as we have mentioned before, the show is coming to TVLand.com uncut starting TODAY. Head on over to TVLand.com/video to watch uncut episodes of the hit series. It is a month-long celebration showcasing the ground-breaking series That Girl and the Emmy Award-winning special Free To Be ... You And Me. The celebration -- in conjunction with the Season 2 release of That Girl on DVD -- includes the following: full-length episode streams of That Girl on TVLand.com; the uncut version of the pop culture classic Free To Be ... You and Me online until January 31; a 48-hour weekend marathon of the series and special the weekend of December 9 on TV Land and a sweepstakes in which fans can enter to win one of 50 DVD sets of That Girl's seasons one and two. We have full details HERE.
NBC has picked-up a full season of critically acclaimed sitcom (but ratings challenged) 30 Rock. Meanwhile, CBS has pulled new drama 3 LBS off the line-up after just three airings. It is unclear if the show will return, but unlikely that it will. It'll probably end up on innertube, like Smith.
And now Todd has details on our Roseanne S6 DVD contest:
We have 5 Roseanne - The Complete Sixth Season DVD sets for giveaway, thanks to the fine folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Welcome to one of the best-loved – and most daring – seasons in ROSEANNE history. It was the year in which Roseanne finds a surprising stash, Dan (John Goodman) re-connects with an old flame, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) becomes pregnant, Darlene (Sarah Gilbert) leaves for college, Becky (Sarah Chalke) returns home, and DJ (Michael Fishman) sneaks off to church. There’s the series’ shocking lesbian kiss, a Halloween to remember, a Thanksgiving the Conners wish they could forget, the fan favorite "White Trash Christmas," and much more in these 25 classic and uncut episodes nominated for 5 Emmy® Awards. In Stores on Dec 5th, 2006.
Check out the Official DVD Site: RoseanneOnDVD.com
Order it online at Amazon.com
Enter the Contest
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Major TV Land Schedule Overhaul Starting Monday; NBC Announces January Schedule and March Notices
So, confused? Don't worry, we have mapped out the ENTIRE schedule for you. You can do so by clicking HERE!
NBC has announced some of its mid-season plans. Starting in January, they will have slight changes to Tuesdays and Wednesdays and they also announced its post-NFL Sunday line-up. Tuesdays from 8-9 p.m. will be Dateline NBC beginning December 26, replacing Friday Night Lights, which will move to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting January 10. Deal or No Deal replaces The Biggest Loser on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. starting January 3. The new post-NFL Sunday line-up is below:
Sundays
7-8 p.m. -- Dateline NBC (February 11)
8-9 p.m. -- Grease: You're the One That I Want (January 7; first two weeks will run from 8-9:30 p.m.)
9-10 p.m. -- The Apprentice (January 7; first two weeks will run from 9:30-11 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. -- Crossing Jordan (January 21)
This will be either a hit or miss for NBC, but ABC and CBS will likely beat it by a large margin.
And NBC has announced two March notices. The Black Donnellys, a new drama, will join the schedule in early March on Mondays at 10 p.m., replacing Studio 60. Studio 60 would have aired 18 episodes by then, leaving 4 unaired episodes for another time. Finally, the new drama Raines will join the line-up in mid-late March on Fridays at 9 p.m., replacing Las Vegas, which would have completed its season order by then. NBC still has not slotted new sitcoms The Singles Tables and Andy Barker, P.I. Both will likely join the Thursday line-up in March or so giving 30 Rock and another sitcom a rest for a few weeks.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
TV One Sitcom Holiday Highlights, 'Mr. Cooper' Coming in January; 'War at Home' to Thursdays on Fox
Also, starting December 13, and especially the week of December 18-22, you can also catch Christmas episodes of your favorite TV One sitcoms in their regular time periods.
The Merry Merry Marathon Saturdays of Christmas kicks-off on Saturday, Dec. 9 with episodes of Amen, 227, Good Times and Roc to bring back memories of Christmases past.
On Saturday, Dec. 16, week two of The Merry Merry Marathon Saturdays of Christmas rings in the events of Christmases present as TV One showcases holiday episodes of newer sitcoms All of Us, Eve, Wanda At Large, For Your Love, and In the House.
On Saturday, Dec. 23, TV One mixes it up with Christmas shows from the past -- such as Good Times, as well as Christmases present such as Martin, On Our Own, and Minor Adjustments and Christmases future, with a sneak preview of a sitcom scheduled to join the TV One schedule in January, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. We will have more on Mr. Cooper joining the line-up when available, but we can expect it to join the line-up in January!
On Christmas Eve, Sunday, Dec. 24, catch some Christmas sitcom episodes in the day and then all-night from 12 midnight to 6 am. On Christmas Day, Monday, Dec. 25, join TV One for an all-day Christmas Laugh-A-Thon as the network celebrates with an all-day holiday-themed sitcom marathon featuring episodes of Eve, Martin, Good Times, Amen, 227, In the House, Roc, Wanda at Large, For Your Love, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, Minor Adjustments, and On Our Own with Christmas storylines. The sitcom marathon airs from 9 AM – noon and 6 PM – 6 AM.
We have ALL the episode info for ALL of these sitcom marathons. You can view that by clicking HERE. You won't want to miss this!
Fox has announced that it will "test" struggling Sunday sitcom The War at Home on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. for two-weeks. The test-run will be two new episodes airing after all-new episodes of on the fence new sitcom 'Til Death. Replacing The War at Home Sundays at 9:30 p.m. for these two weeks (Dec. 10 and 17) will be encore broadcasts of the cult hit Family Guy. In other Fox news, second season sitcom The Loop, which will be coming this mid-season, has had its episode order cut from 13 to 10, as Fox has a lot of new entries for mid-season, including two new dramas and a new sitcom, not to mention 24 and American Idol.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
More 'People's Choice Awards' Nominees; Shout! Factory to Release Short Lived Sitcom 'Men Behaving Badly' & the CBS 1955 'Johnny Carson Show' on DVD
The second round of nominees have now been announced, and here is the television portion:
FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
30 Rock (NBC)
The Class (CBS)
'Til Death (Fox)
FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Heroes (NBC)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Ugly Betty should be in the comedy portion really. 'Til Death doesn't deserve to be there. So, I'd add Men in Trees in Favorite New TV Drama.
We gave you the first round of nominees earlier this month. Click here to view those, if you missed that.
We have some DVD news for you! The short lived 1996-97 NBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly starring Rob Schneider will be coming to DVD on Feb. 13 from the Shout! Factory. The sitcom was based on a British show. Justine Bateman (Family Ties) also appears on this sitcom. Click here for more info on the series and the set.
And Shout! Factory will release The Johnny Carson Show on DVD...no, not The Tonight Show, but the short lived CBS 1955 series. Click here for more info on the series and the set, which includes special features like an episode of his ABC game show Who Do You Trust?
We will be back with more news, if any, since it is still early in the day. And tomorrow come join us as we give you the details for TV One's holiday programming and a new sitcom that will be joining their line-up in January...come on back!
Monday, November 27, 2006
AmericanLife TV Holiday Highlights; More 'Benson' This Friday; ABC Benches 'The Nine'
Meanwhile, in not surprising news, the TV Land Friday Night Movie Encore for this week has been moved once again to 12 noon Saturday, so we get more Benson. Details here.
Finally, ABC's critically acclaimed new drama The Nine has been pulled from the schedule effective immediately. The show has been doing poorly in the ratings. A special 20/20 will air this Wednesday in its 10 p.m. slot. Cheap in America is the topic. Then starting Wednesday, December 5, ABC will put a special series of specials called Primetime: Basic Instincts to the slot. This series asks if you can trust your basic instincts to find an unknown person, do the right thing in life and death situations, get rich or search for a missing person. The Nine is on hiatus and will return later in the season, ABC says, the same thing has been done to Six Degrees.
ABC is expected to announce its January schedule changes this week, if all goes well. New sitcom The Knights of Prosperity is slated for Wednesdays now, instead of Tuesdays...we will have details when available.
And if you missed it yesterday, we put up our review of the new sitcom Big Day. The sitcom premieres TOMORROW at 9 p.m. on ABC.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
ABC Sitcom Pilot Review: Big Day - Premieres November 28th
Big Day - Tuesdays at 9:00PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres November 28th at 9:00PM ET/PT
Each season, the show "24" tackles one very, very bad day in the life of a special agent in charge of national security. Starting November 28 ABC will also present one very, very bad day in someone's life... a young couple's wedding day in the beautiful backyard of a family home. And while no one is defusing a nuclear bomb - they're arguing about when the salad is going to be served - the stakes (as anyone who has been through a wedding knows) are just as high.
"Big Day" tells the stories you don't see on the wedding video -- the father who sits his daughter down on the morning of her big day and tells her he really doesn't think she should marry this guy; the bitter bridesmaid older sister who sleeps with the best man and accidentally drinks his contact lenses, which he left in a glass of water on the nightstand, blinding him for the rest of the proceedings; the groomsman who's secretly in love with the groom; the tightly wound mother of the bride who intimidates the nervous wedding planner into changing the salad (the bride's choice, Caesar, is just so tacky!).
Cast: Marla Sokoloff as Alice and Josh Cooke as Danny - the blushing bride and groom -- Wendie Malick as Jane, Kurt Fuller as Steve, Miriam Shor as Becca, Stephen Rannazzisi as Skobo and the hilariously nervous Stephnie Weir as Lorna.
Read our review of the pilot episode here.
Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday on our message board.
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Saturday, November 25, 2006
Mini-DVD Review: The Best of Clifford the Big Red Dog (Nov. 7)
The Best of Clifford the Big Red Dog (Lionsgate, $34.98) brings us 42 short episodes on DVD on 5-discs. This set is full of bonus materials as well on each disc, designed for children. The menus are easy to navigate and are also designed for children. The packaging is very good and of course in red. Lionsgate has a clear plastic cover then when we take that out you get to the red packaging, with Clifford's head (like The Simpsons head covers). Parents might want to help children take the plastic out, as it might be a little hard for children. The head packaging is also kind of hard to open. But it sure looks nice! When we open the head, we get a nice case and a booklet. The booklet is designed well for children and easy to read. It breaks down each disc. The case holds the 5-discs. Each disc's art is colorful and has Clifford with his friends. Now, I will break down each disc. But first let me tell you, each disc has menu directions narrated. The episodes automatically play, says the narrator. You can press the Menu button on your remote control to get to the actual menu screen. When we do that, the theme song is playing in the background with nice colorful menus and easy to read for kids. Disc one's options are Choose Episode, Big Fun Features, and Audio Features. Each of those options when selected has narrated directions, like for Choose Episodes we hear John Ritter (Clifford) giving us directions on how to choose the episodes. There are two themed selections on this disc--"Everyone Loves Clifford" and "Good Times, Good Friends." Both have 5 mini-episodes that run approx. 11 minutes each, for a total of approx. 57:52, counting the opening and closing theme. 7 chapter stops for each themed selection (opening theme, 5 mini-episodes, and closing theme). The Big Fun Features on this disc are three "Speckle Stories" that run 90 seconds each. The Speckle Stories usually run at the end of each episode on PBS, but it is an extra on this set. There are also 2:25 worth of Trailers for other Lionsgate products that children might want to buy. The Audio features we can change back and forth between 2.0 English Dolby Digital and 2.0 Spanish Dolby Digital. Moving on to disc two, the options are Scene Index, Audio Features, Big Fun Features. Audio Features is the same as disc one. Scene Index gives us 8 mini-episodes to play. They again run approx. 11 min. each for a total of 1:31:17, counting the opening and closing themes. There are 10 chapter stops on this disc (opening theme, 8 mini-episodes, and closing theme). The Big Fun Features on this disc are "Clifford's Doggy Detective Game," which consists of four games children can play; 3 more "Speckle Stories," that run 90 seconds each; and Previews, where we get yet more trailers for Lionsgate products. The previews this time auto-play before the menu directions come up on this disc. Moving on to disc three, we have Choose Episode and Big Fun Features. Choose Episode, again the directions are narrated by John Ritter, give us two themed selections--"Rock N' Roll Clifford!" and "Team Clifford!" This time each theme has four-mini episodes, again running approx. 11 min each, totaling around 46:38. The Big Fun Features on this set include "Clifford's Big Ideas," with directions narrated by John Ritter, these are 3 ideas followed by text of the ideas that run 60 seconds each. Like the Speckle Stories, these usually air in between the episodes or at the end of the episode on PBS. Then we get a "Tour of Birdwell Island," which is a nice interactive map that children can easily use to find there way around the island. Then we have "Real Life Doggie Friends" that runs 2:45. These are real dog stories. I think PBS runs these after the closing credits on Clifford episodes. There is also a DVD-ROM feature if you have a computer with a DVD drive. Moving on to the fourth disc, we again have Choose Episode and Big Fun Features. Choose Episode, directions narrated by Ritter, have two themed selections--"Big Fun in the Sun" and "Look Out, Clifford!" Each themed selection has four mini-episodes that run approx. 11 min. each for a total around 46:23 each. Big Fun Features include three more "Big Ideas," with directions narrated by Ritter, running 60 seconds each; the "Who's Who Game," which is a nice trivia game for children to test their knowledge of the show; and more "Real Life Doggie Friends," running at 3:16. Finally, the fifth disc has Choose Episodes and Big Fun Features. No directions on this disc for some reason. Choose Episodes have two themed selections--""Clifford's Fluffiest Friend - Cleo" and "Clifford Saves the Day!" Again, four mini-episodes each running 11 minutes each, for a total of 46:26. The Big Fun Features are two more "Big Ideas" running 60 seconds each; "Clifford Dance," which is a nice 35 second promo for the show on PBS; and more "Real Life Doggie Friends," running 3:09. This set is pretty well done and filled with extras that children will like and can learn from. If you have not bought this set already, please buy it for your children as it is something great to buy during the holidays. And if you don't have children, I still suggest you buy it, as I'm sure many of you read the books when you were a child. John Ritter gives the voice of Clifford a new meaning and he was nominated for many Daytime Emmy's for this role. So, grab T-Bone and Cleo and hop on Clifford's back to get this DVD set!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Clifford the Big Red Dog TV.com Page
Our Thanksgiving Weekend Review Marathon continues tomorrow, as we preempt the ratings coverage (sorry, we don't have final numbers for Tuesday-Saturday because of the holiday), with a review of the new ABC sitcom Big Day, which will premiere this Tuesday at 9/8 central only on ABC! Is it worth watching? Find out tomorrow!
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