Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Day 44: WGA's Strike; ION, The N Schedule Updates; Wife Swap Reruns to Lifetime
Meanwhile, NBC will air USA Network shows Monk and Psych Sunday nights beginning in March. No timeslots were announced as of yet. The episodes airing on NBC will be repurposed episodes from USA. If you all remember, Monk aired on ABC some years back in the summer as repeats.
We have some schedule notes! ION Television has made some minor changes. For tonight, Diagnosis Murder: "Murder Two" (Matlock cross-over) will air from 9-11pm rather than the holiday movie Mary Christmas. It seems this will the last scheduled airing for Diagnosis Murder, as it is no where to be found after this. Next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 25-27), ION will remove 48 Hours at 10pm and start Who's the Boss? a week early in its new time period from 10 and 10:30pm. Who's the Boss? will remain at 9-10pm on these three days as well!
Yesterday we gave you The N's new 24/7 launch schedule. We didn't mention when Saved by the Bell will air regularly, because we were not 100% sure. I guessed it would be sometime between 5-8pm and 10pm-1am...and guess what I am right. Weekdays 6-7pm and 11pm-12am! It will also air on weekends from 7-8pm and 11pm-12am. But before all that... six-hour marathon celebrating the best episodes from the hit series will air on Monday, January 14 from 6pm-12am. Everything is now updated with the full schedule and also highlights for the month...click HERE to view!
Marking the network's first ever major off-net reality acquisition, Lifetime Television has obtained the exclusive off-network rerun rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television for the popular, critically acclaimed ABC series Wife Swap, beginning in October 2008.
Wife Swap, which premiered in 2004, takes viewers into the intimate heart of the American family home. Each week, two wives from two very different families exchange husbands and children (but not bedrooms) to experience another woman's life. The show will enter its fourth season on ABC this season (Wednesdays at 8 starting Jan. 2, 2008).
Monday, December 17, 2007
Day 43: WGA's Strike; The N's 24/7 Launch Schedule, Saved by the Bell Coming
Meanwhile, NBC has announced that The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien will both return to the line-up with new episodes starting Wednesday, January 2! Both shows will not have any writers for these shows, unless of course they make an independent deal with the WGA. Even if they don't, both shows will go on without writers. Here are their statements:
Jay Leno - "This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers' strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution The Tonight Show remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision."
Conan O'Brien - "For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.
Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible - and no one has to be fired.
So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."
No word yet if ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live will follow, but he likely will.
The N takes a monumental step forward on New Year's Eve as the network moves onto new channel space and expands from a 12-hour programming block into a 24-hour teen network, beginning Monday, Dec. 31, at 6:00 a.m. (ET). The newly 24/7 network will feature a daytime block of hit TEENick programming and will welcome new shows to its nighttime schedule of originals including Queen Bees, The N's Student Body and The Assistants, among others. To celebrate its expansion, The N will count down "24 Reasons to Love The N in 2008" in a 12-hour programming marathon premiering Monday, Dec. 31, at 12:00 p.m. (ET).
"24 Reasons to Love The N in 2008" will be hosted by Degrassi's Aubrey Graham, Shenae Grimes and Cassie Steele, along with TEENick's Lil' JJ of Just Jordan and Malese Jow and Raja Fenske of Unfabulous. The marathon takes a look back at favorite episodes from the network’s five-year history and gives viewers a sneak-peek at upcoming programming for 2008 including the season return of Degrassi: The Next Generation which premieres on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 8:00 p.m. (ET); the return of the original teen comedy, About A Girl on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8:00 p.m. (ET); the February premiere of Degrassi in Kenya, a new half-hour documentary special featuring cast members from the hit series; and the season return of the critically acclaimed series, South of Nowhere, premiering April 2008. At 11:30 p.m. (ET), the marathon concludes with a half-hour special revealing the number-one reason to love The N in 2008 along with the debut of the network's first on-air screening party.
With a brand-new 24-hour schedule for teens, The N will roll out the return of Degrassi (Season Seven) and South of Nowhere (Season Four); three originals and two acquired series in 2008. Saved by the Bell will begin airing on Monday, Jan. 14 and the award-winning That 70's Show will begin airing in June. The N will also debut two new reality series, Queen Bees and The N's Student Body, both scheduled to premiere in summer, 2008 as well as a new scripted comedy, The Assistants, in the fall. Additionally, popular favorites from the TEENick line-up including Kenan & Kel, Unfabulous and Just Jordan will join The N's new daytime schedule.
The schedule also has sitcoms such as Moesha, One on One, A Different World, and Growing Pains in the midday line-up. While primetime has the TEENick shows, Degrassi, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Saved by the Bell will not join the line-up for the launch week (week of Dec. 31), but the show will launch on Jan. 14, as mentioned earlier. Between 5-8pm (Degrassi and Kenan & Kel) and 10pm-1am (Fresh Prince and Kenan & Kel) there are a block of two shows airing three times each...if I were to GUESS, Saved by the Bell will get in sometime in those slots...say 7-8pm and 10-11pm? They can easily have those two shows airing three times each be cut down to two times and add in two Saved by the Bell airings. I'll find out and will let you all know. And before I get the questions, yes TBS will still air Saved by the Bell weekday mornings from 7-9am.
For the COMPLETE launch schedule for The N 24/7, click HERE!
So what about Noggin? That was the channel The N shared a channel with. Noggin will also get a new 24/7 channel. Their schedule and details can be found on this thread.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Week 12 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 7.8/12.5; NBC: 6.0/9.6; Fox: 4.5/7.1; ABC: 4.2/6.7; The CW: 2.0/3.1; MNT: 1.0/1.6
Total Viewers: CBS: 12.12 million; NBC: 9.21 million; Fox: 6.92 million; ABC: 6.22 million; The CW: 2.89 million; MNT: 1.56 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 3.4/9.3; NBC: 2.9/8.0; Fox: 2.4/6.4; ABC: 2.1/5.7; The CW: 1.3/3.4; MNT: 0.4/1.1.
Analysis: Week 12 has been filled tons of repeats. CBS has had the most new episodes this week, which included all of Wed-Fri, and a dash of new airings Monday with CSI: Miami and even How I Met Your Mother. NBC is airing more Deal or No Deal, which is why it has been doing decent actually. They aired 5 five hours worth from Mon-Wed. ABC has had tons of repeats, with only Pushing Daisies new and the new Monday sitcoms and October Road. While Fox also has been repeat filled except for Thursday reality shows, Kitchen Nightmares and the terrible K-Ville. Last week CBS won the top spot in all categories: HH, viewers, and 18-49. ABC was second in HH, viewers, and 18-49. With NBC third and Fox fourth.
Through the first four days of this week, CBS has a lead in all categories in week 12 with NBC second, Fox in third and ABC uncharacteristically in fourth. Repeats of course don't do as good as new episodes, most of ABC's shows are serialized, and they do even worse in repeats.
The day by day analysis will return when the holiday season is over and we are sort of back to more new than repeats.
As for the week, CBS will win in HH, viewers and 18-49, NBC will be second, with a close finish for second place in 18-49...it could be NBC or even Fox if the NFL overrun does big. ABC will be in the fourth spot for the first time this season. It'll be a better week this week for ABC, as the repeats will be replaced by the game show Duel, which will do better obviously. NBC won't do as good without Deal or No Deal, as Clash of the Choirs looks to be dud. New scripted programming this week: CSI Miami on CBS and Notes from the Underbelly and October Road on ABC tomorrow; CBS Tuesday; Criminal Minds and CSI NY on CBS Wednesday; and burn-offs of K-Ville on Fox (Mon) and the final two episodes of the canceled Journeyman (Mon and Wed) on NBC.
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of December 3-9)
- Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did just 830,000 viewers, down 50k from the previous week.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 7.57 million...not bad.
- King of the Hill (Fox) 3 episodes - Two repeats in the 7pm hour did only 3.46 and 4.58 million, while a new episode at 8:30 couldn't hold or build on the lead-in and did 6.58 million.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 7.9 million and a 3.9/9 18-49 rating...good stuff for a repeat.
- American Dad (Fox) - Like King, only did 6.51 million...and this was a new one also.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - I thought this show was done with new episodes, but was wrong...one final episode they had finally aired and did 8.3 million...not bad.
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - Since the lead-in was new, a repeat of this show spiked up to 7.37 million, more than the previous week's 6.41 million.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.49 million tuned in for a repeat, slightly down from previous week.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 9.34 million tuned in for an encore, also slightly down from previous week, but same retention percentage from lead-in basically.
- Samantha Who? (ABC) - Last new episode until February did just 6.71 million...better to save them then waste them in December.
- Notes from the Underbelly (ABC) - Just 4.5 million...down from previous week's 5 million and the season premiere's 7.45 million, which was a series high excluding the pilot.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game. All were new ... Aliens did a terrible 1.84 million and The Game did 2.42 million and led the block.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - Two repeats did 5.89 and 5.45 million from 9-10pm...OK. Should haven done better, but they have repeated last season's episodes so many times already.
- Back to You (Fox) - I think everyone knows now it is repeats, just 4.19 million.
- Til Death (Fox) - Only 4.09 million for a repeat.
- The Office (NBC) - An encore from 8-9pm did 5.71 million.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode at a special time of 9pm did 5.58 million...maybe the show should follow The Office?
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) is a repeat of Aliens in America on The CW at 7:30, and Fox's animated comedies are a mix of new and repeats.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week (and they were repeats!). Everything else was OK (such as Samantha Who?, The Office repeat) or just plain old terrible (Back to You, Notes from the Underbelly).
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: C.S.I.: Miami - The Fifth Season; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Sports Talk and Just Shoot TV Land
C.S.I.: Miami - The Fifth Season (Paramount Home Video/CBS DVD, $64.99)
Lead Criminalist Horatio Caine (David Caruso) is targeted by adversaries old and new in the fifth season of CSI: Miami. As the danger grows for Caine, he and the rest of his team - Calleigh (Emily Procter), Eric (Adam Rodriguez), Alexx (Khandi Alexander), Ryan (Jonathan Togo), Frank (Rex Linn), and Natalia (Eva La Rue) - must go the limit to solve their biggest cases yet.
This 6-disc set contains all 24 episodes of the fifth (2006-07) season. The episodes are featured in Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio. It has a running time of 17 hours, 28 minutes. The attractive packaging features a holofoil photo of David Caruso wearing his trademark sunglasses on the cover. Some palm trees and the Miami skyline can be seen in the background. The inside case is in a book format that you can flip through to get to the discs. There is a photo of Procter, Alexander and Rodriguez on the front and Linn, Togo, La Rue and Caruso on the back. Each disc features a different photo of one of the cast members and the show logo. The menus are also very stylish and easy to navigate. They have a montage a video clips, with some instrumental music playing in the background. Options are available for Episode Selection, Set Up, Previews (only on Disc 1), and Special Features. On the Set Up menu, you can choose either Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or Spanish 2.0 Surround. Closed captioning is availble for all of the episodes. As you would expect from such a recent show, the video and audio quality is outstanding. This is the first time that the show has lacked "Complete" in the title. The episodes have running times of 41-44 minutes in length. There is nothing on the packaging to indicate that any of the music has been changed.
There is an impressive amount and variety of special features included. There are 5 audio commentaries available on the first four discs. They all provide some interesting trivia and behind the scenes details on the making of the episodes. Director Sam Hill, Co-Executive Producer Sunil Nayar and Brian O'Neill (Locations Manager) provide commentary for the season premiere, "Rio." Director Sam Hill, Adam Rodriguez and Carey Meyer (Production Designer) do the commentary for the 100th episode, "Death Pool 100." Jonathan Togo, Writer Corey Miller and Larry Detwiler (Visual Effects) sit down for the commentary on "Death Eminent." Eva La Rue and Writer/Consultant John Haynes provide the commentary on "Darkroom." Director Karen Gaviola and Gonzalo Menendez (Clavo Cruz) do the commentary on "Man Down."
Five interesting and entertaining featurettes on the creating of the episodes add up to around one hour of bonus content. Here is the breakdown:
"Rio Grand: CSI: Miami Goes to Rio" (Disc 1 - 8:43) - This featurette includes interviews with Co-Executive Producer Sunil Nayar, Adam Rodriguez, Executive Producer Ann Donahue, Producer Sam Hill, Producer Don Tardino, David Caruso (archival footage), Producer/Director Joe Chappelle and Location Manager Brian O'Neill. They talk about the process and how they scouted locations, how they wrote the story, how they told the audience that they were in Rio, and whether or not they were allowed to bring guns into the country.
"If Looks Could Kill: Special F/X Makeup" (Disc 2 - 13:38) - This featurette includes interviews with Department Head Make-up Cheri Montesanto, Executive Producer Ann Donahue, Special Effects/Make-Up Matt Smith. They talk about how they create the beauty looks and dead wounds, various visual effects, how various scenes were shot (body blows up from gases, collapsing of lung, giant stomachs, guy gets his head severed, guy gets his legs blown off).
"Turning Up the Heat: The Look of CSI: Miami" (Disc 4 - 9:38) - This featurette includes interviews with Executive Producer Ann Donahue, Director of Photography Eagle Egilsson, Director of Photography Charles Mills, Production Designer Carey Meyer, Art Director Roland Rosenkranz and Colorist Mark Wilkins. They talk about how they try to distinguish the show from Vegas, the shooting at the lab and on location, how they use a lot of color (orange and greens) on the sets, and how they do the color correction. They are able to create a colorful, rich, sexy and wet look. CSI: Miami has always had the coolest look of the CSI series in my opinion.
"Dressing The Part" (Disc 5 - 5:57) - Costume Designer Andrea Federman is interviewed in this featurette. She talks about how they have to sell that the show is in Miami. Each character gets one outfit per episode. She talks about the various looks of the different characters this season and shows off some of the clothes in a closet.
"The Real MDPD with Jonathan Togo" (Disc 6 - 25:29) - This featurette includes interviews with Jonathan Togo, Capt. Bill Press - CSI Bureau, Criminalist 2/DNA Adriana Kristaly, Forensic Artist Samantha Steinberg, Criminalist Supervisor/Firearms CSI Adrian Nunez, CSI Bureau - Frederick Van Loan, CSI Kit and Van Special Patrol Bureau/Marine Patrol Sgt. Marvin Freels, Special Patrol Bureau/SRT Lt. James Tietz, and Special Patrol Bureau/SRT Sgt. Raymond Melcon. Jonathan Togo tours the SRT training center and lab. He goes to each area and the specialist in that area details their job. He asks some interesting questions and is very familiar with the terminology. This was a very interesting and informative segment.
A playable demo for the CSI: Hard Evidence PC game is also included.
Another excellent season and DVD release for CSI Miami. This is one series that may have started a little slow but has improved each season. They always keep it fresh with a variety of cases and storylines. Some memorable episodes this season were "Going Under," "Darkroom," "Throwing Heat," "No Man's Land" and "Just Murdered." With the writer's strike, now is a good time to catch up any episodes that you may have missed. If you've already seen the episodes, the commentaries and special features will give you new insights on the making of the show.
-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
(4.5/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
CSI: Miami CBS.com Official Site
CSI: Miami TV.com Page
Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, December 15, 2007
"Petrino: The Coward; The Mitchell Report: On 24/7; Just Shoot TV Land"
By Solomon Davis
How can Bobby Petrino call himself a professional the way he jumped ship on the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week to coach a college football team? He is a classless punk who should never be allowed to apply for a janitor position in the NFL because you just don't run out on a organization like that when you are the head coach. If he had a ounce of class, he would have never left a note for the organization to read he was not returning because real men don't do things like that. He is nothing but a coward since he wasn't man enough to resign face to face after signing a contract. There was only 3 games left in the Falcons horrible season and he runs away like a scared little girl. So I wonder how the the players for the Arkansas Razorbacks feel to know they will be coached by a classless punk like Petrino? This man is no doubt the weasel of the year and should not be coaching anywhere even if it's college football.
The Mitchell Report was the breaking sports news on Thursday during, and on the 6pm SportsCenter, do you believe it lasted the entire hour? It preempted the regularly scheduled shows like Around the Horn and PTI. I mean was it really necessary to talk about this story for 60 minutes and nothing else? You would think after 45 minutes it would be time to start talking about another sport but ESPN just was non-stop with this steroid story and it became the absolute worst hour of my sports watching life. Not only that but the 24/7 ESPNews Network was covering the story non-stop from the time it broke at 2pm and made me feel like baseball was the only sport in America. Why does ESPN have to go
overboard when it comes to major sports news? Man I wish FoxSports Net had a 24 hour sports network so I could ignore ESPN at times like this.
Well it's clear that TV Land is going FORWARD instead of in looking in the past when it comes to acquiring new shows each year. The shows just seem to keep getting newer each year and once 2008 starts TV fans will be treated to the show Just Shoot Me. The show launches in late January and will air every night at midnight for an hour. Just another TV show that has nothing to do with Classic TV and for some reason TV Land is starting off a New Year with Garbage. No one should be surprised if TV Land picks up Will and Grace in January of 2009 since shows close to this decade seem to be their main objective every year.
My Weird TV Moment of the Week:
Monday, December 10, 2007: During the Monday Night Football game, Atlanta Falcons owner was asked if would he take Michael Vick back after he gets out of Prison and his response was: "As long as Michael Vick keeps himself in shape and stay away from the "fried chicken and french fries." He should have said hot 'dogs.'
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Day 40: WGA's Strike; ABC's Strike Schedule; NCIS Reruns to USA Network; Nick at Nite Holiday Changes; RTN Coming to the Tri-Cities Area in Tennessee
We are in the midst of the holiday season, with thousands of our members and the membership of other unions out of work. It is the height of irresponsibility and intransigence for the AMPTP to refuse to negotiate a fair agreement with the WGA. We reiterate our demand that the AMPTP immediately return to the negotiations, rather than going on vacation, so that this town can be put back to work.
The DGA announced today that it may commence negotiations with the AMPTP in January. The DGA has to do what is best for its membership, and we will do what is best for ours. We wish them well, but they do not represent writers. Our strike will end when the companies return to negotiations and make a fair deal with the WGA.
The AMPTP responded to the WGA complaint by saying: The WGA's filing of a complaint with the NLRB reminds us of the old lawyers' adage: When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the law is on your side, argue the law. And when you don't have either the law or the facts on your side, you pound the table. The WGA has now been reduced to pounding the table, and this baseless, desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA's negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers.
It is getting very ugly. Not good.
ABC's strike schedule (AKA January schedule, AKA mid-season schedule) is out! ABC will premiere four new series between Jan-Mar, Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give, in addition to the premiere of the much anticipated fourth season of Lost on Thursday, January 31 at 9:00 p.m. Just for Laughs, According to Jim and Carpoolers return to Tuesday in January. Wife Swap and Supernanny return, this time on Wednesdays. The megahit Dancing with the Stars returns March 17 on Mondays and Tuesdays. Off the line-up because of the strike are Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty Sexy Money. Cavemen is not returning. Men in Trees will take a break and not come back until Feb. 27, and move to Wednesdays at 10 when Cashmere Mafia's run completes. For a full list of the schedule, look below:
MONDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
9:30 p.m. Notes from the Underbelly
10:00 p.m. October Road
MONDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
9:00 p.m. Samantha Who?
9:30 p.m. Notes from the Underbelly
10:00 p.m. October Road
MONDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
9:30 p.m. Samantha Who?
10:00 p.m. The Bachelor
TUESDAY
8:00 p.m. Just for Laughs
8:30 p.m. Just for Laughs
9:00 p.m. According to Jim
9:30 p.m. Carpoolers
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal
TUESDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. Just for Laughs
8:30 p.m. Just for Laughs
9:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars the Results Show
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal
WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m. Wife Swap
9:00 p.m. Supernanny
10:00 p.m. Cashmere Mafia - MEN IN TREES beginning Feb 27
THURSDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Big Shots (after special premiere of Cashmere Mafia on Jan 3)
THURSDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Lost
10:00 p.m. Eli Stone
FRIDAY
8:00 p.m. Drama encores
9:00 p.m. Drama encores
10:00 p.m. 20/20
SUNDAY (MAR)
7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Oprah's Big Give
10:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
For MUCH more info click HERE!!
USA Network has announced it will start airing reruns of the CBS drama NCIS starting in January. It was announced a few years ago that USA Network had bought the off-network rights of the show starting in 2008. USA will air it Wednesday nights at 9:00pm and 10:00pm starting Jan. 2. It won't air as a daily strip for awhile, since it is just starting. Maybe in the fall at earliest. NCIS is replacing Law & Order: SVU on Wednesday nights. SVU will still air in its other slots.
From Donald P. Bellisario, an acclaimed producer, comes NCIS, a hit spin-off of JAG (which airs on USA Network 6-8am weekday mornings), that brings us the inner workings of the government agency that investigates all crimes involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Starring: Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette.
In other news, Nick at Nite has edited their Christmas marathon for this Sunday a bit. They removed the holiday episodes of Roseanne and Cosby Show. They will air holiday episodes from 9pm-12am of their usual line-up of Home Improvement, George Lopez, and Fresh Prince instead. In addition, the holiday hour of 11pm next week will now be back to just Fresh Prince...so again Roseanne and Cosby Show get snubbed. For more details, click on our December highlights by clicking HERE.
RTN has announced a new affiliate...our friend Greg Brobeck (aka snowpeck) is very happy, because this is his market. Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation to launch RTN programming on a digital stream of WKPT-TV, Tri-Cities' ABC affiliate. The new affiliate will begin airing RTN programming on December 21 on WKPT-DT, Tennessee's first digital television station, and will also be available over-the-air on WOPI-CA, Channel 9.
Greg found out that we can look for Matlock, Hawaii 5-0, Magnum, P.I. in primetime with the following in daytime and late night: Perry Mason, Ironside, Rockford Files, Get Smart, Kojak, The Untouchables, Mission Impossible, The Fugitive, Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Happy Days, Love American Style. And on weekends: Bonanza, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wild Wild West, Emergency, Knight Rider, A-Team, Afred Hitchcock.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Day 39: WGA's Strike; ION Television January Highlights; 65th Annual Golden Globes Nominees
ION Television released their January line-up today. To launch the new year, ION will party all night and give us a marathon of party episodes of its newest acquisition, The Drew Carey Show with a "Drew" Year's Eve Party Marathon! The marathon airs 7-10pm on Monday, December 31. After the marathon the show will air Mon-Thurs at 9:00 & 9:30PM as we announced before. So what will happen to Who's the Boss? since that show airs currently in that slot. ION will still air the show, but they will move it to Mon-Thurs at 10:00PM & 10:30PM, replacing two airings each of 48 Hours and Diagnosis Murder. Murder will be off the line-up again, but 48 Hours will move to Saturdays at 6:00PM replacing the NFL Game of the Week highlights, as the NFL season will be over by then. Other highlights include the weekend RHI Movies (Fri-Sun 7-11pm)...movies this month include Robert Ludlum's Apocalypse, Voyage of the Unicorn, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, The Deliverance of Elaine, Dying to Love You and Journey To The Center Of The Earth.
As always, keep it with us for any changes or additions to the line-up. Click HERE to view the January schedule and highlights! Happy Drew Year!
The 65th Annual Golden Globes Awards nominees have been announced! HBO lead with 18 nominations. ABC lead the broadcast nominees with 11, followed by NBC with 6, Fox with 2 and CBS with just 1. The telecast airs Sunday, Jan. 13 on NBC. Here are the major nominees:
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (Showtime)
Entourage (HBO)
Extras (HBO)
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
COMMENTS: Ugly Betty and Weeds were in it last year, but snubbed this year.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
COMMENTS: No Housewives is surprising.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
David Duchovny, Californication (Showtime)
Ricky Gervais, Extras (HBO)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
COMMENTS: The love for Pushing Daisies continues!
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Big Love (HBO)
Damages (FX)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
House (Fox)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Tudors (Showtime)
COMMENTS: Mad Men and The Tudors are a surprise. I would have went with Lost, Brothers & Sisters or Heroes.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Patricia Arquette, Medium (NBC)
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Minnie Driver, The Riches (FX)
Edie Falco, The Sopranos (HBO)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
COMMENTS: Cable rules here...just 2 of the 7 are from broadcast. Arquette doesn't even long on here. Hunter is a surprise.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors (Showtime)
Bill Paxton, Big Love (HBO)
COMMENTS: Again cable driven except for one nomination.
Since the nominees for supporting actors/actresses in Comedy and Drama are mixed in with TV movies, I won't give them all, but here are the TV players (see link below for full list):
Ross Bryne, Damages (FX)
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Jamie Pressly, My Name is Earl (NBC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Kevin Dillon, Entourage (HBO)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
Donald Sutherland, Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
For the FULL list of television nominees and to discuss this, click HERE.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Day 38: WGA's Strike; ABC's Strike Schedule; New Knight Rider Movie on NBC in February
UPDATE: ABC has told me they probably won't release the schedule today. So, when they do (likely tomorrow), I'll pass it on to you all. Sorry.
We do have a little note for you. Week two of Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann is scheduled to air as a 90-minute episode now on Monday, January 14, 2008 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT. The premiere on Jan. 7 will be two-hours, 8-10pm.
The AMPTP sent a new letter out today. I urge you to read it. Click HERE to read it.
Knight Rider, NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 from 9-11 p.m. ET.
The movie stars Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. In addition, David Hasselhoff -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett will provide the voice of KITT.
As the original story resumes, the new KITT (this time the Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.
Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.
Can't wait!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Day 37: WGA's Strike; ABC Benches Big Shots in December; TV Land Reminds Us of the Merrython
ABC is pulling Big Shots from the schedule for at least the rest of this month. Two new episodes were scheduled on Dec. 13 and 20, while an encore of the pilot was scheduled for Dec. 27. Instead, Private Practice is scheduled to air repeat telecasts on Thursdays, December 13, 20 and 27, 2007 at 10:02 PM ET/PT. Private Practice is also scheduled to air in its regular Wednesday, 9:00 PM ET/PT slot.
ABC might be saving episodes of Big Shots for later in the year due to the strike. So we might not have seen the last of it! 5 episodes remain in the can.
In other ABC schedule news, the premiere of game show Duel next Monday will be 90 minutes now from 8:00-9:30pm, thus a new episode of Samantha Who? will now be saved. At least 3 episodes will remain to air in the new year of the hit sitcom.
Still no news on ABC's strike schedule. I expect it to be announced as early as tomorrow...so stay tuned! Everyone is getting anxious!
Jingle Bells ring when TV Land rolls out a collection of classic Christmas episodes during TV Land's 8th Annual Merry-thon. The twenty-four hour celebration begins Monday, December 24 through Tuesday, December 25 from 5:00pm - 5:00pm (ET/PT): features some of America's favorite television families including -- The Ingalls, The Jeffersons, The Bunkers, The Bradys, and more. Tune in as the Ingalls recall their fondest memories of Christmases past, Louise help George find the father he never knew, Cindy ask Santa for help and Edith and Archie feast on a holiday dinner. Click HERE for the full line-up!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Day 36: WGA's Strike; Minor TBS Schedule Change; ION Not Airing Kung Fu
And the WGA told us this on Friday: "Today, after three days of discussions, the AMPTP came back to us with a proposal that included a total rejection of our proposal on Internet streaming of December 3. They are holding to their offer of a $250 fixed residual for unlimited one year streaming after a six-week window of free use. They still insist on the DVD rate for Internet downloads. They refuse to cover original material made for new media. We remain ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high. We were prepared to counter their proposal tonight, and when any of them are ready to return to the table, we're here, ready to make a fair deal."
I don't care who to believe. I just want this over NOW! ABC will be releasing their January strike schedule this week. We will let you know when that happens! So come on back!
TBS has made some minor schedule changes effective Monday, December 24. Many viewers have complained about the constant airings of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on many channels (Nick at Nite, The N, and TBS), well now you might be just a little bit relieved. TBS is moving the show out of 3-4pm weekdays into 9-10am weekdays. I guess that is a start. TBS is wishing us a Merry Christmas by doing this...their present to us. With this change, the morning movie will go from 9-11am to 10am-12pm, thus the Home Improvement block will be shifted from 11am-1pm to 12pm-2pm which will move Yes, Dear from 1-2pm to 3-4pm. Say that ten times fast. Click HERE to view the changes and to discuss them. These changes are only for the cable TBS...not Peachtree TV in Atlanta and Canada.
In other scheduling news, ION Television was slated to bring back Kung Fu to Saturday nights at 6pm starting Dec. 15, but that will not happen anymore. NFL Game of the Week highlights will continue to air the rest of the month until the NFL season is over. So maybe Kung Fu will return in January? We will let you know. We should have January this week, if all goes well. So you'll want to come on back for that! The only thing announced is The Drew Carey Show weeknights 9-10pm.
It is still early in the day...if we have more news, we will return for sure.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Week 11 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 6.9/10.8; ABC: 5.8/9.1; NBC: 5.6/8.7; Fox: 4.7/7.2; The CW: 1.7/2.6; MNT: 0.7/1.1
Total Viewers: CBS: 11.03 million; ABC: 8.89 million; NBC: 8.69 million; Fox: 7.23 million; The CW: 2.58 million; MNT: 1.1 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 3.3/8.4; ABC: 3.2/8.1; NBC: 3.1/8.0; Fox: 2.4/6.1; The CW: 1.1/2.9; MNT: 0.4/1.0.
Analysis: Week 11 has been filled with more repeats than new episodes, so all numbers are down but NBC. NBC is airing more Deal or No Deal, which tells you NBC's regularly scheduled programs are doing bad. It is sad when a week in December beats ratings from sweeps. Last week ABC won the top spot in all categories: HH, viewers, and 18-49. CBS was second in HH and viewers, but 4th in 18-49. NBC and Fox battled for third in HH and viewers, with NBC winning in HH and Fox in viewers. In 18-49, NBC nipped by Fox for second, but it was a distant second as ABC took a big lead for first.
Through the first four days of this week, CBS has a lead in all categories in week 11 with ABC second, NBC in third and Fox in fourth.
On Monday with no more Dancing with the Stars, the night gets much weaker overall. CBS was actually first with repeats of its comedies and a repeat of CSI: Miami. A repeat of The Big Bang Theory did 6.41 million, down from the previous week's repeat, a repeat of How I Met Your Mother did 6.3 million, so Big Bang built on it. Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement repeats followed with great numbers for repeats, 11.88 million for Men and 9.78 million for Rules ... nice. CSI: Miami encore followed with 9.69 million, I think repeats usually do better than that? NBC was next, lead by Heroes at 11.06 million and a 5.0 18-49, down from previous week...and this week was the finale (until the strike is over)...so disappointing indeed. Chuck opened the night with 8.41 million, on par from previous week. Life on a special night closed the night with 6.48 million, a bit up from Journeyman the previous week. Without Dancing, ABC was not as good obviously, another airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas kicked the night off decently with 8.52 million. Samantha Who followed with 7.16 million and a 2.9/6 18-49 rating...both series lows, for the second straight week...the 9pm timeslot might not be good or we need some Dancing...hopefully Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann can spark it back up in January. I am guessing that show will do solid, at least 10 million or more. Notes from the Underbelly followed with 5.0 million, not good, down nearly 2 1/2 million from the premiere a week before. And the badly placed October Road at 10pm did just 4.94 million...again put it on after Grey's Anatomy like last season where it did a solid 10 million each week. Fox kicked off with a repeat of House at 8.35 million, up from previous week's repeat by a million, and ended with a new K-Ville at a horrific 4.82 million...kill this show already...a repeat of Bones a week before did nearly 2 million more! The CW aired repeats of their Monday sitcoms, with Aliens in America doing just 1.59 million and The Game did 1.9 million, the best of the block.
On Tuesday again with no Dancing, the night is much weaker. CBS aired the holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at 8pm and did 14.55 million and an even more impressive 5.1 18-49 rating. The always reliable NCIS followed with a repeat at a special time of 9pm and did 11.09 million, which was more than The Unit's 10.56 million the previous week...and that was NEW! Cane was preempted, thank god says CBS, for a special Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and did an OK 7.48 million...this should be on another channel...maybe it is too young for CBS. NBC was next with another two-hour The Biggest Loser from 8-10 doing 8.32 million, up over a million from previous week now that the competition has gotten easy, followed by Law & Order: SVU at 11.73 million, down from previous week. Fox's huge hit House was a repeat and did 10.46 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, not bad for a repeat, and a Bones repeat started the night off with a solid 8.17 million. ABC started off with a holiday repeat of America's Funniest Home Videos doing 7.48 million leading into an encore of Grey's Anatomy on a special night doing just 5.72 million! Boston Legal returned with a new episode and did a decent 8.62 million. The CW had Beauty & the Geek and Reaper do 2.49 and 2.62 million for new episodes.
Wednesday saw NBC take the night thanks to that game show Deal or No Deal. The game-show aired from 8-10pm and did a solid 11.33 million, sure beats whatever airs at 8pm and Bionic Woman each week. At 10pm NBC's Life did 7.63 million, up from previous week, thanks to a much better lead-in. ABC started the night off with the holiday special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and did a very impressive 9.34 million. Pushing Daisies will return this coming week.. Private Practice followed at 9pm and did 10.4 million and 3.8 18-49 rating and ABC closed the night off with the addictive Dirty Sexy Money doing 6.74 million. CBS saw Kid Nation do 7.1 million, and repeats of veteran dramas Criminal Minds and CSI: NY did well and were consistent doing 9.2 and 10.37 million. Fox aired repeat episodes of Back to You, 'Til Death and Kitchen Nightmares, doing 5.53, 5.01 and 5.32 million each. The CW had Top Model at 4.63 million, while Gossip Girl did 2.44 million...both down from previous week.
Thursday saw CBS win, nipping ABC. CBS opened with Survivor: China at 13.86 million. A new CSI followed with 18.8 million and a new Without a Trace did 12.68 million. ABC opened the night with a new Ugly Betty doing a 9.37 million. A new Grey's Anatomy followed with 17.78 million (and an impressive 7.1 18-49 rating, maybe good enough to win the week) and the annual special Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2007 followed with 11.31 million and a first place finish with a 4.4 18-49 rating. Fox's 5th Grader did a solid at 8.69 million and Don't Forget the Lyrics followed with 6.74 million. NBC started with comedies, My Name is Earl opened the night with 7.38 million, 30 Rock did just 5.84 million, an encore of The Office followed with 4.99 million and Scrubs has dropped every week since it returned, and this week was no different doing just 4.85 million. ER closed the night with 8.15 million, a season low once again...and this was episode #300. A repeat of Smallville on The CW did 2.81 million, followed by a repeat of Supernatural at 2.04 million.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but NBC won Friday thanks to what else, Deal or No Deal at 8pm for a first place finish. CBS preempted Ghost Whisperer for the classic Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns and were OK. 10pm's NUMB3RS was also pre-empted for a two-hour special Movies Rock, which did pretty bad. ABC was lead by Women's Murder Club at 9pm and 20/20 was first at 10.
Saturday saw ABC win the night thanks to the Jim Carrey holiday movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas, doing 7 million..
As for tonight, ABC Sunday is all-new tonight but without Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters...but ABC does have the Mitch Albom movie For One More Day...these movies always do good! I saw the movie already from a pre-screening, and it is fantastic! If you read the book, you'll love this just as much. CBS will do decent with its regular lineup, with a boost from the NFL overrun, and NBC will do solid business for the NFL game. Fox's animated comedies are repeats but 8:30 & 9:30 and those are shows are the weak links. It is hard to say which network will win tonight. CBS, ABC or NBC can win it. It'll be close.
As for the week, CBS will likely win in HH, viewers and 18-49, ABC will be second, with a close finish for second place in 18-49...it could be ABC or even NBC if the game does very well. NBC will be in the third spot in HH/viewers, with Fox in fourth. More repeats (CBS comedies, Grey's Anatomy) and holiday specials (Shrek the Halls, Winnie the Pooh) this week, with a little mix of new episodes (CSI, Samantha Who, Pushing Daisies)...be on the look out!
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of November 26-December 2)
- Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did just 880,000 viewers, up 80k from the previous week.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat at a special time of 8:30 did an OK 6.7 million out of the BCS Selection Show which did 11.2 million
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 7.05 million.
- American Dad (Fox) - Just 5.72 million for a new episode, but the lead-ins were repeats...so that doesn't help this show which is lead-in dependent.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 6.3 million tuned in for a repeat...its repeats from here on out thanks to the strike.
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 6.41 million tuned in for a repeat, down from the previous week's repeat episode.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.88 million tuned in for a repeat, it also will be repeats from now on.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 9.78 million tuned in for an encore.
- Samantha Who? (ABC) - 7.16 million tuned in for a new episode ... not bad, but down from its numbers all season.
- Notes from the Underbelly (ABC) - Just 5 million...down from previous week's 7.45 million, which was a series high excluding the pilot.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game. All were repeats and under 2 million.. Aliens did a terrible 1.59 million and The Game did 1.9 million and led the block.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Cavemen (ABC) - Nothing until January...According to Jim repeats air this week...at least a sitcom will air!
- Carpoolers (ABC) - Nothing until January...According to Jim repeats air this week...at least a sitcom will air!
- Back to You (Fox) - The word of the week: repeat. 5.53 million for an encore.
- Til Death (Fox) - 5.01 million for a repeat.
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - 7.38 million for a new episode...up from previous week's numbers.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - 5.84 million for a new episode...on par with previous week.
- The Office (NBC) - An encore episode did 4.99 million...down from previous week's repeat by a million
- Scrubs (NBC) - 4.85 million for a new episode and lost viewers from the lead-in, which was a repeat.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) is a repeat of Aliens in America on The CW at 7:30, and Fox's animated comedies are a mix of new and repeats.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week (and they were repeats!). Everything else was OK (such as Samantha Who?, My Name is Earl) or just plain old terrible (Scrubs, Notes from the Underbelly).
Saturday, December 08, 2007
TV Rebels: The Dick Van Dyke Show; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Disappearing Tuesday Sitcoms on ABC; Frank TV Airs Too Late; Morning Show Wedding Dance
We have gotten special permission to publish at least 6 different essays on TV shows that will be featured in the upcoming book TV Rebels: 100 People and Programs That Shaped the Medium by author Lou Orfanella. The book is still in the works and will be released in 2009. Once a month, each month (for the next six months at least) we will bring you one of his excerpts from his pending book. So, this is a little exclusive and will help you prepare for the book coming in 2009!
But first here is a little about Lou: Lou Orfanella's latest book is the fiction collection In a Flash: Twenty-One Short, Short Stories. In Excursions: Poetry and Prose he brings together many genres of literature including the direct address, fiction, collaborative writing, and a novella in poems. He is the author of the poetry collections Streets of New York, Allurements and Lamentations, Composite Sketches, The Last Automat, Permanent Records, How I Happened and Summer Rising, River Flowing and the work of nonfiction Scenes from an Ordinary Life: Getting Naked to Explore a Writer's Process and Possibilities. He contributed chapters to the books Reel Rebels, When Genres Collide, and Rationales for Teaching Young Adult Literature. His columns, essays, articles, reviews, and poems have appeared in many national and regional publications. He holds degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University and teaches writing at Western Connecticut State University and English in the Valhalla, New York school district. He has presented dozens of public readings of his work and offers individual and group workshops on topics including poetry, fiction, memoir, journalism, and family history. He can be contacted at LORFANELLA@hotmail.com.
So without further adieu, we bring you the first column of TV Rebels:
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Sophisticated Ensemble Comedy
Two years before the 1961 premiere of The Dick Van Dyke Show veteran television writer Carl Reiner had created a series for himself called Head of the Family. The pilot failed to sell but was seen by producer Sheldon Leonard who suggested a casting change for the lead role. Although young comic and daytime TV host Johnny Carson was considered, the role of Rob Petrie went to the multifaceted entertainer Dick Van Dyke who had gained national recognition via his Broadway and motion picture performances in the musical Bye Bye Birdie. While Van Dyke's name graced the title of the series, it was an ensemble that relied as much on co-stars Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, and occasionally Reiner as it did on the headliner himself. Additionally, it leaned on a more sophisticated humor than most of the comedies to that point.
Situations comedies had generally been produced as pure family fare with an attempt to cram in as many quick laughs as possible. Entertain the kids, don't offend the adults, and don't require too much thinking on the part of the audience. "Dick Van Dyke was the first sitcom that was rated A-for Adult. Rob and Laura Petrie were sensible, grown-up people. They were funny and they did funny things. They were not the Burnses, who were zany and did zany things. Nor were they madcap Margie and her foolish father or the warbling Partridges. Laure and Rob Petrie were not silly people. They didn’t act; they behaved. They were substantial-more so than Donna and the rest of the Stones. That's just it: the Petries weren't stone, they were...clay. They were like real people. Real people who made jokes, but weren't jokes." (Mitz 181). The Dick Van Dyke Show helped television grow up a bit.
A major change brought about by The Dick Van Dyke Show involved the way writers looked at their audiences. Audiences were given credit for more intelligence than had been the case in the past. While most sitcoms focused on a main character cooking up schemes and finding him or herself in ridiculous situations and took place primarily in one venue, be it the home or workplace, here in an almost literary style, Rob Petrie had both work and family lives and it was assumed that audience could accept the two "plot" lines. Sight gags and slapstick pratfalls were part of Van Dyke’s repertoire of comedic techniques, but were not, as was the cast with so many previous comedies seen as essential to getting a laugh from the audience. Good writing and intelligent dialogue were trusted to lead to the payoff. Another sign of growth was the deeper character development that was afforded others in the cast. What was happening to, and thought about by, wife Laura and coworkers Buddy and Sally was as significant as what Rob was experiencing.
"The show's unique blend of wit and warmth would prove beyond any argument that a situation comedy could be sophisticated and urbane-and still deliver a sizable audience. In the space of only five years, Carl Reiner and his company of actors, writers, and fellow producers had succeeded in creating a work of such consistent intelligence and invention that it would set a new standard for quality television-a standard that still serves as a benchmark for prime-time comedy to this day. As few television shows had done before, and very few have done since, The Dick Van Dyke Show would forever alter the way we watch television." (Waldron 300).
Works Cited
Mitz, Rick. The Great TV Sitcom Book. New York: Perigee, 1983.
Waldron, Vince. The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
Stay tuned next month for another installment of TV Rebels as we take a look at the legendary Norman Lear! Should be fun!
Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, December 8, 2007
"Disappearing Tuesday Sitcoms on ABC; Frank TV Airs Too Late; Morning Show Covers Wedding Dance"
By Solomon Davis
What's up with the disappearance of Caveman AND Carpoolers on Tuesday nights? It seems like its one preemption after another with no new episodes in sight. Are the ratings that bad for both shows? It's easy to just do a time slot change instead of leaving both shows in the timeslot to fail. ABC just go ahead and make the announcement that the two shows are not coming back because I already saw that next Tuesday in the 8pm Hour they will be preempted again for holiday airings of Shrek the Halls and Winnie the Pooh & Christmas, Too. The only thing the specials are doing is making viewers forget all about the the two comedies which is probably their plan anyway so they can have a reason to pull both shows.
Why does TBS have to put Frank TV in the 11pm slot on Tuesdays? I mean for me it conflicts with local news and SportsCenter on ESPN and even the re-airing is after 1am in the morning. How bout having Frank TV air between 8pm and 10pm and CUT DOWN some of the encores of Family Guy? Family Guy is on from 8pm to 10pm and I'm sure Frank TV being a new show can fit somewhere in there. I mean does TBS want people to see the show or not? But they do label it as a late night TV show.
There was a clip of a recently married couple on YouTube dancing at their wedding reception and the mornings shows like Good Morning America and The Early Show wanted to keep showing them dancing OVER and OVER. Who cares that they were dancing at their wedding reception? And did the wedding couple really need to be interviewed by the Early Show just because they were dancing and acting silly? The Early Show can't find any other story to talk about and have to discuss YouTube videos of married couples dancing to rap music? Is that all it takes to get a interview on TV these days? Clearly the DUMBEST feature story of the year. Maybe I should record a video for this blog with me laughing at Emmit Smith on ESPN while I eat nachos. I wonder if The Early Show would interview me?
My Weird TV Moment of the Week:
Thursday, December 6, 2007: During the Bears/Skins game on the NFL Network, a fan ran out of the stands and attacked a player on the field and NFL Network immediately CUT away from the situation. WHY?? Security Had already tackled him so what did NFL Network think was going to happen?
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Day 33: WGA's Strike; Wayans Bros. to Develop VH1 Sitcom Starring Family Matters Star; RTN Comes to Charlotte
The WGA have announced that nominations for outstanding achievement in television and radio writing during the 2007 season for the upcoming 2008 Writers Guild Awards will be released on Thursday, December 13. The 2008 Writers Guild Awards are slated to be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008, simultaneously at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Broadway Millennium Hotel in New York City.
VH1 has given the green light to a new pilot from Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn Wayans for their new comedy, The Life and Times of Marcus 'Felony' Brown. The premise surrounds burgeoning, hard core, East Coast rapper Brown (Darius McCrary, Eddie Winslow from Family Matters) who blows up after his debut album goes platinum and heads to Los Angeles to record the follow up. Along for the ride are his self-hyping hype man, E-Z (Vince Green); jet-setting manager, Cash (Jon Abrahams); and hard-partying bodyguard, Tiny (Marcello Thedford). Affion Crockett plays Seville, Marcus' personal barber, while Toni Trucks is Tia, Marcus' assistant.
Marlon and Shawn Wayans developed the pilot with producing partner Rick Alvarez. The three will serve as executive producers along with Keenen Ivory Wayans. The pilot just wrapped principal photography.
Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will be adding a second Capitol Broadcasting Company station as an RTN affiliate. RTN will launch on a digital stream of WMYT (My-12) in Charlotte, NC, the nation's 25th largest television market, in 2008. The 'Primetime All The Time' line-up, including Perry Mason, Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and Mission: Impossible, will hit the airwaves of Charlotte shortly.
Come on back tomorrow for an exclusive. We have gotten special rights to publish some great classic TV essays that will be coming out in 2009 on a nice book by author Lou Orfanella!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Day 32: WGA's Strike; Classic TV Sitcom Holiday Episodes in Toledo!
Mondays - 8pm American Gladiators, 9pm Deal or No Deal, 10pm Medium
Tuesdays - 8-10pm The Biggest Loser, 10pm Law & Order: SVU
Wednesdays - 8pm Deal or No Deal, 9pm Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 10pm Law & Order
Thursdays - 8pm Comedy Repeats, 9pm Celebrity Apprentice, 10pm ER (Lipstick Jungle takes over in Feb)
Fridays - 8pm 1 vs. 100, 9pm Friday Night Lights, 10pm Las Vegas
Saturdays - Repeats
Sundays - Mix of Specials
So, Medium is returning to its old Monday at 10pm slot. Deal or no Deal returns to Mondays, but it moves to 9pm. Mondays at 8pm starting Feb. 18 will be the reality series The Baby Borrowers, as American Gladiators' six-week run will conclude by then. Sunday specials include The 65th Annual Golden Globes Awards" broadcasting live on Sunday, January 13 from 8-11 p.m. ET, The Guinness Book of World Records - Live! featuring a live death-defying stunt on Sunday, January 27 from 9-11 p.m. ET and Top 100 Most Outrageous Moments on Sunday, February 10 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Don't be surprised to see Dateline pop-up Sundays at 7 or even two-hour Deal or No Deal episodes from 7-9pm Sundays. If that is the case, we have Deal on three nights (Sun, Mon, Wed).
Meanwhile Fox has picked-up more episodes of Don't Forget the Lyrics! Fox has ordered 13 additional episodes of the musical game show. The series, hosted by Wayne Brady, cranks up the volume with all-new episodes Thursdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT and encore episodes airing Fridays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Fox.
Attention Toledo, Ohio! Classic TV fans will be VERY happy this holiday season as WTVG (ABC13) will give you fans a treat this holiday season with classic holiday episodes of sitcom favorites! Starting this Saturday, fans can tune in from 1-3PM on Saturday afternoons on ABC13 for Christmas episodes of classic sitcoms. Dec. 8 we will see holiday showings of Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and The Flying Nun. On Dec. 15 we will see more holiday classics with Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and this time The Monkees. And the final holiday airings will be on Dec. 29 and we will see yet more Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, The Partridge Family and another Bewitched. You lucky people in Toledo you! Hopefully they do more of this and let's hope other stations across the nation learn from this and follow!
In Toledo? Or love the fact they are airing classic sitcom holiday episodes? Discuss this with us HERE!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Day 31: WGA's Strike; I Love Lucy, Honeymooners, Three Stooges Video Games?
Meanwhile, if the strike lasts long, you can expect CBS to air some Showtime shows as scripted programming, such as Dexter. Series like Tudors or Weeds even can make it, but heavy editing will be needed. NBC could also go and get some scripted programming from one of its cable networks such as USA Network and air series like Burn Notice, Monk or even Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Beanbag Studios is developing some classic TV video games such I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and The Three Stooges. It's an intriguing strategy to differentiate Beanbag Studios' games from the rest of the pack, but it's anyone's guess as to whether nostalgia will indeed attract casual gamers who are usually older than the average gaming demographic.
In the first Lucy game, scheduled for release this month, gamers are faced with a number of challenges, including answering trivia questions and rearranging video clips so they are in the correct order. Subsequent games -- including I Love Lucy Slots, The Three Stooges Pinball, and The Honeymooners Bowling -- will be available between year-end and April.
While Beanbag's first games will be based on classic TV licenses, Steve Bergenholtz (President) insists Beanbag isn't locked into that strategy. In fact, he is currently talking to a movie studio about a 10-title movie deal. But he is also seeking out other classic TV licenses, which he describes as a huge opportunity for the licensor's to "take their properties off the shelf, dust them off, and bring them into the video games arena ... which makes our licensing their titles a win-win for them and for us."
Sounds cool! I hope these sell well so we get more classic TV titles as video games!
Random thought: For those of you who watched October Road on Monday, have you heard of the sexual position the Pablo Picasso? Apparently Ikey and Owen's wife did that position a lot.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Day 30: WGA's Strike; CBS and NBC Revise Schedules
"If I had not been back on the air tonight, 75 members of my loyal staff and crew were going to get laid off. You either come back, or they're laid off. I said, 'Let's turn the lights on, I'm gonna come back.' It's that simple." He added, "I miss my writers." None of this is written—clearly! I don't know what we're gonna do, moving forward the rest of the week. But I'll figure it out."
Meanwhile, ABC will now stop paying the non-writing staff of Jimmy Kimmel Live. And as Conan and Leno, Jimmy will pay them from his own pocket. David Letterman's production company is paying his and Ferguson's non-writing staff.
CBS has announced its plans for January and February. Because of the strike, they will bring back Big Brother for its ninth season. This series usually only airs in the summer for them. The series will air Tuesdays at 9, Wednesdays at 8 and Sundays at 8 starting Tuesday, Feb. 12. But before that, CBS will bring back the summer game show Power of 10, hosted by Drew Carey, on Wednesday, January 2, airing Wednesdays at 8pm for 6 weeks before Big Brother takes the slot. On Monday, January 28 CBS will launch two sitcoms--a new one and a returning one. The new one is The Captain, a single camera about a wildly eclectic group of people whose lives are intertwined through the place they all call home, a fabled Hollywood apartment building, El Capitan, which they've dubbed "The Captain." It stars Fran Kranz, Chris Klein, Jeffrey Tambor, Raquel Welch, comedian Al Madrigal, Valerie Azlynn and Joanna Garcia. It will take the place of The Big Bang Theory, which would have been repeats anyway, Mondays at 8:30pm. Also launching Jan. 28 is the third season of The New Adventures of Old Christine, the critically acclaimed comedy about a divorced working mom trying to juggle motherhood, work and dating, starring Emmy Award winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The show will air at 9:30pm on Mondays replacing repeats of The Rules of Engagement. CBS will replace Cane, Tuesdays at 10 with a movie (Jan. 15) and two airings of 48 Hours Mystery (Jan. 22 and 29) before the second season of Jericho takes over on Feb. 12. The movie is a three-night, six-hour event airing Sunday, Jan. 13, Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16 from 9-11pm titled Comanche Moon. The 16th season of Survivor launches on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8pm. Crime repeats will likely air in January in the slot.
CBS will continue to air rebroadcasts of its popular comedies and dramas in their regular time periods including How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami on Monday; NCIS on Tuesday; Criminal Minds and CSI: NY on Wednesday; CSI and Without a Trace on Thursday; Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight and NUMB3RS on Friday; and Cold Case and Shark on Sunday. 60 Minutes will also continue to air Sundays. CBS has also completed production on episodes of the game show Do You Trust Me. A scheduling announcement will be made at a later date.
For a full list of CBS airdates for January and February, click HERE!
Meanwhile NBC has announced its Wednesday plans. NBC will lawyer-up on Wednesday nights as the Emmy Award-winning Law & Order resumes with a two-hour season premiere event on Wednesday, January 2 from 9-11 p.m. ET, and will continue on Wednesdays starting January 9 in its old 10:00 p.m. ET timeslot preceded by this season's network broadcast premiere of Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 9:00 p.m. ET in its return to NBC that night. Original episodes air on sister cable network USA Network on Thursdays. So to recap, this is how NBC will look this January, as of now:
Mondays - 8pm American Gladiators, 9-11pm TBD
Tuesdays - 8-10pm The Biggest Loser, 10pm Law & Order: SVU
Wednesdays - 8pm Deal or No Deal, 9pm Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 10pm Law & Order
Thursdays - 8pm Comedy Repeats, 9pm Celebrity Apprentice, 10pm ER (Lipstick Jungle takes over in Feb)
Fridays - 8pm 1 vs. 100, 9pm Friday Night Lights, 10pm Las Vegas (the latter two is not confirmed yet, but is likely in January at least)
Saturdays - Repeats
Sundays - TBD
NBC still has Medium, Dateline, and new reality series Amne$ia and The Baby Borrowers yet to be scheduled.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Day 29: WGA's Strike; ION Holiday Highlights; Hallmark January Schedule
In other news, ABC will place an encore episode of Grey's Anatomy this Tuesday at 9pm. This encore is the episode that aired on Thanksgiving night. It is part one of a two-part episode about an ambulance crash, titled "Crash into Me." Part 2 airs this Thursday at 9. Catch up this Tuesday if you missed it! It is very good! This change means repeat episodes of According to Jim will not air 9-10pm this Tuesday, but ABC will now air it on Dec. 18. It will still air Dec. 11 as planned.
As we promised we will give you the ION holiday highlights today. It is still not 100% complete, but we will share it anyway. If you browse our message boards, you've seen it already. Everyday is Christmas on ION, you can catch at least one holiday event each night. Among the items you will see this week are include a holiday episode of Alice, the movie Santa Trap, holiday episodes of Amen, and the movie The Night They Saved Christmas! In upcoming weeks you'll see more Alice and Amen holiday episodes, holiday episodes of Mama's Family and Who's the Boss? and special encores of the original movie Hogfather as well!
Click HERE to see the full holiday highlights and the rest of December's programming!
A few days back we gave you details on Hallmark's new acquisitions. Today we have the January schedule and it features one of those shows...7th Heaven and the renewed series Touched by an Angel. 7th Heaven will take the 1pm and 2pm slots on weekdays replacing Matlock. Matlock will air movie episodes on Sundays, but the regular series is on a break...not to worry because it has been renewed until 2011. 7th Heaven will also air Saturday mornings at 9am and 10am. Touched by an Angel gets the weekdays at noon slot, replacing one of the Murder, She Wrote airings.
For the full schedule and highlights, click HERE!
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, October 23
Happy's Place - "Office/Space" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie surprises Isabella with her own office upstairs and reassures her that they'll still see each other plenty; Steve and Takoda try to convince Emmett to stop giving Bobbie so much space after their relationship has moved into the friend zone.
Newlyweds - "Pilot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Over six weeks and two continents, total opposites Jeanie and James go from blind date to wedded bliss.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 19)
Friday, October 23
- Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Watch Dakota on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Doug Benson (You're the Worst) - Doug is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Natasha Leggero (Broke/Dice/Another Period/Free Agents) and Tommy Davidson (The Varnell Hill Show/The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) - Natasha and Tommy will be on a repeat of Funny You Should Ask at 12:37am on CBS.
- Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This/Burning Love) - Adam talks about Nobody Wants This on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Téa Leoni (Newlyweds/The Naked Truth/Flying Blind) - Téa talks about Newlyweds on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Jenna Ortega (Stuck in the Middle/Richie Rich) - Jenna, Taika Waititi and Amy Adams and dish on their new movie Klara and the Sun on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) - NBC's Today catches up with Constance in the 9am hour.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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