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Blog DVD Review: Kyle XY - The Complete Third Season - The Final Season (12/22)

Welcome to another edition of blog DVD reviews. This week we take a look at ABC Studios/Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Kyle XY: The Complete Third Season - The Final Season. Kyle XY is the hit original ABC Family series about a teenage boy with extraordinary abilities that appears out of nowhere and later stays with a family. See my blog DVD review of Kyle XY: The Complete Third Season - The Final Season:

Kyle XY: The Complete Third Season - The Final Season (Buena Vista, $39.99) brings all 10 episodes from the third and unfortunately final season of the ABC Family Channel original series! As all great men grow into their hero status, they must learn that their special attributes come with a price. In season three of Kyle XY, Kyle is not exempt from this rule and now, as greater forces push him to rise to new levels, he must become a man. And to do so, Kyle may have to sacrifice relationships with those he holds most dear. Kyle XY stars Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, Bruce Thomas, April Matson, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Chris Olivero, Kirsten Prout and Jaimie Alexander.

All 10 episodes from the third season are very good, but the ones that stand out are the season premiere "It Happened One Night," where Kyle awakens inside a Latnok building, where he attempts to escape and rescue Amanda from Latnok's clutches, meanwhile Jessi comes to Kyle's aid when she senses his troubles, but she must abandon Sarah in order to do so. In the episode "Life Support," when Nicole, Kyle and Josh are en route to a psychology conference, but they get into an accident when Kyle (who was driving) becomes distracted and suddenly swerves to avoid hitting another car, which sends the Tragers' vehicle off the road before crashing into a ravine. In "Welcome to Latnok," after Cassidy helps to save Nicole's life, Kyle is a man of his word and begins to pay his debt back to Latnok, but what Kyle finds is a complete surprise -- Latnok is not some dark and scary place, but rather a hip college hangout for brilliant young minds, including Mark. In "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," now that Kyle and Jessi know the true story of Sarah's demise, they're on the hunt to find out what Cassidy really wants from them, but in the effort to do so, Kyle must do something that doesn't come naturally to him -- lie...to make Cassidy trust him and believe that he's on board with Latnok, Kyle invites Cassidy over for dinner. And in the series finale "Bringing Down to House," Kyle gets Cassidy to open up about Latnok's plans for the future of Adam Baylin's experiment and to his horror, Kyle learns that the secret society is going ahead with a production of multiple clones of Kyle, so Kyle and Jessi must find a way to put a stop to it, and he enlists the help of the Tragers, Declan, and Amanda. But with the world thinking Jessi is dead and Kyle trying to keep up with all the lies he has told, will they be able to find the secret test facility in time?

Packaging has a nice outer box with Kyle showing he has no belly-button (again) and also standing next to him are Jessi and Cassidy. The color scheme is orange and blue. The back cover has tons of information on the series & set and a list of special features and some screenshots, along with a nice family photo of the Trager family. Inside the box is the case, with the same artwork as the outer box--I hate that. All three discs are inside on the panels. Disc one is on the left panel, while discs two and three are on the right panel, overlapping each other. Ugh, I hate that. The last set had 6 discs and there was no overlapping whatsoever! So we have a downgrade here. Inside the case, we also have some inserts: Disney Blu-ray DVD and other DVDs catalog such as other ABC Family hits Make It Or Break It & 10 Things I Hate About You. When we remove disc one, on the packaging itself, we get a nice disc-by-disc breakdown of episodes and on the right side when we remove discs two & three we have nice episodic photos on the packaging itself. Disc one holds episodes 1-4 and has artwork same as the cover art, disc two holds episodes 5-8 and has artwork of the Trager family and disc three has the final two episodes & the special features and has artwork of Kyle with Amanda and Jessi.

The menu screen has Play All, Episode Selection, Audio Commentary, Bonus Features, Sneak Peeks, and Set Up. Audio Commentary option is on disc two only (though we do have one more on disc three, but it is listed with the Bonus Features). Sneak Peeks and Bonus Features are only on the last disc. Sneak Peeks has trailers for Greek and much more. Everything else is on each disc. Set Up gives us the option to register your DVD and to turn on subtitles in English, French or Espanol. Episodes menu has a screenshot in a square with episode number and title. The main menu has the Latnok logo then we are into a black-grey room where moving images (screenshots from episodes) on screens are in the background. The closing credits music from the series is playing in the background on the main menu and also on sub-menus. Auto previews are playing before the menu comes on disc three such as for the Make It Or Beak It and Surrogates DVDs.

Each episode runs approx. between 43-44 minutes (highest being 44:14 and lowest being 42:06...with most near 44 minutes), so it seems it is a bit longer than shows on broadcast television, but there are about 1-2 minute "previously on Kyle XY" recaps on each episode. There are about 6 chapter stops per episode. The video and audio is superb, as it should be since it is a series that just aired this past season. The video is in widescreen and for those who watched it on ABC Family, will like it even more this way, if you don't get ABC Family HD! I have HD, but my cable service didn't have ABC Family HD when this season aired, so I had to watch in full-frame, but it is nice watching it in widescreen format on this DVD!

Moving on to the extras. Discs two has an audio commentary on the episode "Life Support" from executive producers David Himelfarb and Eric Tuchman. They give a lot of information and tidbits, and they feel this is one of the best episodes of the entire series. On disc three we have an audio commentary on the series finale "Bringing Down the House," from executive producer David Himelfarb and co-executive producer Julie Plec. By the time they did the commentary they knew this was the last episode. This was not intended to be a series finale, so they were surprised the series was canceled.

As for the rest of the extras, we have 12 deleted scenes with optional audio commentary from executive producers David Himelfarb and Eric Tuchman. I suggest you watch it with the commentary so you know why it was deleted and where the scene was from. Runtimes for each deleted scene: 1:33, 0:33, 0:43, 0:38, 1:00, 1:42, 1:14, 1:59, 1:03, 0:29, 1:02, and 0:45. Then finally we have a very interesting featurette called "Kyle XY: Future Revealed." It runs 12:35 and we are told how it all ends! It is a great wrap-up for fans that you'll want to see for sure! Interviewed are Eric Tuchman, David Himelfarb, Julie Plec, and Matt Dallas.

I of course highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. And if you never have watched the show, I urge you to get the first two seasons on DVD and then get this DVD because this is the best basic cable series EVER! I was hooked and I disappointed we will not have a fourth season to see what happens from the cliffhanger ending from the third season finale. I wish ABC Family would at least greenlight a two-hour finale movie event to wrap it up, since this was their first original series and it did so well for them. This series has comedy, drama, action, science fiction, and everything you can imagine. It is a perfect show for anyone to watch. Join Kyle and the rest of the gang in season three to find out what is Latnok and who really is Cassidy! Let's change the world with Kyle!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(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
Kyle XY TV.com Page
Official Website

TV Land Edits January 2010 Schedule A Bit; 16th Annual SAG Awards Nominations

Earlier this month we gave you TV Land's January 2010 schedule, but now some changes to that have been made. First off the shifting of Andy Griffith, All in the Family, Sanford & Son, and more Andy will not be shifting to 4-8pm after all starting Jan. 4. They will remain from 5-9pm. That means Home Improvement will not air Mon-Sat in the 8pm hour starting Jan. 11. Home Improvement will air Mon-Thurs from 9-10pm starting Jan. 11, except Wednesdays will be Married...with Children. And Married will move to the 10pm hour except on Wednesdays will be High School Reunion. This means the primetime marathon block that airs Mon-Thurs from 10pm-12am will now be removed. Roseanne will take over the 11pm hour. Married...with Children will now get late night encores starting Jan. 4. airing Mon-Thurs in the 1am hour replacing Roseanne. And the week of Jan. 4, when Home Improvement has its launch marathon (8-11pm each night), Married...with Children will air at a special time of 5-6pm that week, while encoring in the 1am hour.
Home Improvement will also air Saturdays 8-10pm following the weekly Married...with Children marathon. Home will also air Sunday nights 2-3am, as previously reported.
In other news, High School Reunion Half-Hour Preview Special will premiere Saturday, Dec. 26 at 9pm. Various encores of this special will air until the premiere of the third season on TV Land on Jan. 13.
View the full updated TV Land January 2010 schedule and highlights, make sue you view all of the one-time-only airings as well.

Awards season is heating up with Golden Globes and the WGA Awards, now we have another. The 16th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) nominees have been announced. Leading the pack were The Closer, Dexter and 30 Rock with 3 nominations each. Among the broadcast networks, NBC led with 8 nominations and CBS was right behind with 7. HBO led cable with 7 nominations. The awards will air Saturday, Jan. 23, on TNT and TBS at 8 PM ET/PT.
Here are the main TV nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Simon Baker (The Mentalist, CBS)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men, HBO)
Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette (Medium, CBS)
Glenn Close (Damages, FX)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
Holly Hunter (Saving Grace, TNT)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Steve Carrell (The Office, NBC)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk, USA)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men, CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?, ABC)
Toni Collette (The United States of Tara, Showtime)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Showtime)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
The Closer (TNT)
Dexter (Showtime)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
30 Rock (NBC)

View the complete TV portion nominees and to discuss the nominees!

TV One January 2010 - A Different World Acquired; TV Land's Make My Day Returns For Final Airings

January 2010 will have a few new shows on TV One! But first, let's get to the stunts and highlights! On Saturday, January 16 beginning at 12pm through 8pm, TV One airs the "Martin 'Radio Rave' Marathon" that features episodes of the popular TV One sitcom dealing with storylines with Martin at his job as a radio talk show host. An encore of the marathon begins at 10:30pm through 6am.
The very next day on Sunday, January 17, beginning at 12pm, TV One presents the "Living Single 'Queen Regine' Marathon" that features episodes of the popular TV One sitcom focusing on Kim Fields character Regine in all her diva glory. The marathons airs though 6pm then an encore of the Living Single Reunion will air in the 6pm hour.
Beginning on Tuesday, January 19 at 9pm and continuing through Thursday, January 21, TV One presents the premiere of an all-new sitcom from the producers of Martin and The Jamie Foxx Show entitled Love That Girl starring Tatyana Ali (TV One Access, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) and Phil Morris. In the sitcom, a young woman (Ali) looks for a second chance in life by obtaining her real estate license and begins working with her father (Morris) who owns a real estate company. When her unemployed brother unexpectedly moves in with her, the world that she was trying to create is suddenly turned upside down and life will never be the same. Other characters include wacky neighbors who always have an opinion on her life, the best friend who owns a beauty salon, and her father's ghetto fabulous assistant. Encore airing are scheduled for 12am each night. Four episodes will air.
And finally, the big stuff! On Monday, January 25 beginning at 10pm, TV One brings two new shows to their prime-time landscape with the additions of the sitcom A Different World airing back to back episodes at 10pm & 10:30pm and the family drama series Lincoln Heights airing at 11pm. Both new acquisitions will air nightly Monday-Friday. As a result, there will be schedule changes made starting this day. Amen returns to the regular schedule and will air at 8am, followed by an episode of The Jeffersons at 8:30am, both replacing an hour of Half & Half. Good Times will take the 9am hour replacing originals. New York Undercover moves from 3pm to 11am, replacing an hour of originals. Originals replace Eve and Martin hours from 12-2pm. The 2pm hour will see an hour of The Hughleys, replacing Living Single. At 3pm The PJ's returns to the schedule and will air in the hour. The 4pm hour is now Sanford & Son instead of Divorce Court, which slides to the 5pm hour, replacing an hour of All of Us. The 6-8pm block remains the same with an hour of The Jeffersons at 6pm and half-hour each of Martin and Good Times in the 7pm hour. The nightly 8pm-11pm marathons are no more, as the new primetime line-up will have half-hours of Martim, Good Times, Living Single, and The Hughleys from 8-10pm leading into an hour of A Different World at 10. The nightly marathons had Martin on Mondays, Good Times Tuesdays, Between Brothers Wednesdays, and Living Single Thursdays, but they will be replaced with that primetime schedule starting Jan. 25. For late night, at 11pm as we mentioned it will be drama Lincoln Heights replacing Martin/Sanford & Son. The 12 midnight hour will have have Half & Half and Eve, replacing an hour of Living Single. A Different World and Lincoln Heights will encore in the 1am and 2am hours replacing a movie. And finally, the primetime block encore from 3-5am will be replaced by a movie.
There will be no changes made to weekends.

As we already announced, TV Land will air the final episodes of Make My Day all next week at 10pm. The holiday season has arrived, so in the spirit of giving, TV Land is airing the hilarious original comedic hidden camera series Make My Day, beginning Monday, December 21 and wrapping up on Christmas morning, December 25 during "TV Land's 10th Annual Merrython." The 30-minute series takes a positive spin on pranking as hidden cameras capture the weird coincidences, extraordinary situations and surprise celebrity appearances that occur for deserving participants over the course of a seemingly "normal" day. Kenan Thompson takes viewers through each outrageous episode of Make My Day. The series is executive produced by Michael Davies and is produced for TV Land by Embassy Row, David Granger and Will Macdonald of Monkey Kingdom and Sony Pictures Television (SPT). SPT is also the distributor of the series.
The series guarantees that each worthy participant will experience his or her best day ever, from a wannabe rapper from New Jersey joining musician Lil Jon on a spontaneous live radio interview to a manager of a high-end pet store ending up on the set of a telenovela spoof with her favorite heartthrobs, Desperate Housewives' Jesse Metcalfe and Dancing With The Stars' Cristian de la Fuente, to a guitar shop owner finding himself in a bowling match partnered with The Sopranos star Vincent Pastore and meeting NFL wide receiver Amani Toomer. The unsuspecting stars of each episode of Make My Day are bound to run into their favorite actors, be given tickets to the event of their dreams or hang out with their most beloved professional athlete as each episode culminates in one of the best days of their lives.
The series premiered in August and was pulled after only 2 episodes, so the final four will now finally air.

NY Station WPIX's Annual Honeymooners New Year's Marathon; Retroality Interview with Dick Van Patten About New Book 'Eighty Is Not Enough'

As usual, WPIX will ring in the new year with The Honeymooners! The classic '50s sitcom will have its annual marathon in New York on Dec. 31 when the clock strikes midnight to welcome in 2010! The marathon will air on the night of Thursday, Dec. 31 (which is technically the morning of Jan. 1) from 12am-6am, then a break for the PIX morning news from 6am-9am, and finally The Honeymooners marathon continues from 9am-5pm on New Year's Day!
Episodes airing in the marathon are: "The Safety Award," ""Young Man with a Horn," "Funny Money," "Trapped," "Oh My Achin' Back," ""Woman's Work is Never Done," "The Worry Wart," "Pal O' Mine," "Dial J for Janitor," "The Loudspeaker," "Opportunity Knocks But," and "A Man's Pride" for the late night/morning marathon. Then the New Year's Day marathon have the following episodes: "Hello Mom," "Alice and the Blonde," "The Baby Sitter," "Head of the House," "A Matter of Record," "Bensonhurst Bomber," "The Sleepwalker," "A Dog's Life," "Matter of Life & Death," "Man From Space," "The Golfer," "Young at Heart," "Mama Loves Mambo," "TV or Not TV," "Better Living Thru TV" and "The $99,000 Answer." 14 hours of The Honeymooners in total!
Elsewhere on WPIX in NY, they will have The Jeffersons multiple part episode marathons on Sunday nights (early Monday mornings). On Sunday, Dec. 27 from 2:30am-4:30am catch the four-part episode "The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii!"
View our previous story on WPIX's holiday stunts, which includes a sitcom marathon of holiday episodes on Sunday, Dec. 20!

Our good pal Chris Mann of Retroality.TV has posted his new cover story and it is an interview with Eight is Enough star Dick Van Patten! Dick has a book out now called Eighty is Not Enough and Chris interviews him about that and more!
Look up the word "wholesome" in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of Dick Van Patten. Whether helping a troubled Eight is Enough kid or encouraging hungry puppies by eating his line of Natural Balance dog food, the TV father figure's familiar image reassures us he's still serving up hearty goodness.
Van Patten, who turned 81 on Dec. 9, shares his eight decades as an actor, family man and TV octodad in his delightful new memoir Eighty is Not Enough: One Actor's Journey Through American Entertainment (Phoenix Books), co-authored by Robert Baer.
Read more about that book and check out Chris' interview with the legendary Dick Van Patten!

NBC Midseason 2010 Schedule; 67th Annual Golden Globe Nominations; 2010 WGA Awards Nominees

Fox was the first one to reveal mid-season plans, with ABC and The CW revealing just a bit so far, but now NBC has revealed its full mid-season and post-Winter Olympics schedule as the new drama Parenthood debuts Monday, March 1 at 9 p.m. ET while The Marriage Ref, a hilarious reality comedy panel series from Jerry Seinfeld about marriage, premieres on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET beginning March 14.
In addition, The Celebrity Apprentice returns in its third installment with an all-star lineup of celebrity candidates on Sunday, March 14 from 9-11 p.m. ET.
NBC has still not announced when mid-season sitcom 100 Questions will launch yet and when the mini-series Day One will air. Also, available are Friday Night Lights and reality series Who Do You Think You Are?, but those could be saved for summer.
So, after the Winter Olympics end on Feb. 28, this is how NBC will look from March 1 on:

MONDAYS
8:00 p.m. Chuck (will return January 11; two back-to-back season premiere episodes on Sunday, January 10 from 9-11 p.m., as previously announced)
9:00 p.m. Parenthood (premieres March 1)
10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show
NOTE: Heroes ends its season on Feb. 8 at 9 p.m.

TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. The Biggest Loser (will return on January 5 with new season)
10-11 p.m. The Jay Leno Show

WEDNESDAYS
8:00 p.m. Mercy
9:00 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show

THURSDAYS
8:00 p.m. Community
8:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation
9:00 p.m. The Office
9:30 p.m. 30 Rock
10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show

FRIDAYS
8:00 p.m. Law & Order
9:00 p.m. Dateline NBC
10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show

SATURDAYS
8-11 p.m. Various Drama Encores

SUNDAYS
7-9 p.m. Dateline NBC (through March 7, then moves to 7 p.m. hour only beginning March 14)
8:00 p.m. The Marriage Ref (debuts March 14)
9-11 p.m. The Celebrity Apprentice (season premiere on Sunday, March 14)
NOTE: NBC will use January for special programming on Sundays following the conclusion of Sunday Night Football.

Stay tuned for full mid-season updates on ABC and The CW and any mid-season updates for CBS, as they still haven't announced anything.


The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards nominees have been announced! HBO leads with 17 (down 5 from last year) nominations. Showtime follows with 6. Fox leads the broadcast nominees with 6 this year, followed by last year's broadcast leader NBC with 5 (down 6 from last year), CBS with 4, and ABC with 3. Glee was nominated 4 times, for the most of any program. The telecast airs Sunday, Jan. 17, 8-11pm ET on NBC. Here are the major nominees:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
COMMENTS: Curb Your Enthusiasm was snubbed. Two newcomers (Glee, Modern Family) are in!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette, United States of Tara (Showtime)
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town (ABC)
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
Lea Michelle, Glee (Fox)
COMMENTS: No Housewives again for a third straight year, but everyone is different from last year except Tina Fey. No America Ferrera?

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)
Thomas Jane, Hung (HBO)
Matthew Morrison, Glee (Fox)
COMMENTS: The love for Glee continues and no Tony Shalhoub this year.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Big Love, (HBO)
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)
COMMENTS: Damages & Grey's Anatomy didn't make it again. Still no Lost, as it really deserves it. Surprised Breaking Bad didn't get in again as this is the same as last year except Big Love is in for In Treatment. Too much cable.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Glenn Close Damages (FX)
January Jones, Mad Men (AMC)
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (CBS)
Anna Paquin, True Blood (HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
COMMENTS: Sally Field and Mariska Hargitay are not in it this year. Glenn Close made it this year.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Simon Baker, The Mentalist (CBS)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
Bill Paxton, Big Love (HBO)
COMMENTS: Bill Paxton is back after not being nominated last year. Simon Baker now in after his Emmy nomination last season.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Adams, Hung (HBO)
Rose Byrne, Damages (FX)
Jane Lynch, Glee (Fox)
Janet McTeer, Into the Storm (miniseries) (HBO)
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love (HBO)
COMMENTS: This is now its own category as in the year's past this and the supporting actor were together. Anyway, why no Brothers and Sisters love this year?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
William Hurt, Damages (FX)
John Lithgow, Dexter (Showtime)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
COMMENTS: As mentioned in the previous category, this is now its own category as in the year's past this and the supporting actress were together. Michael Emerson is now in as he won an Emmy for last season...now he will be favorite for a Golden Globe!

View the FULL list of television nominees and to discuss this.


Finally, we leave you today with the nominations for the 62nd Annual WGA Awards. The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York. Comedy wise, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Glee and Modern Family were nominated for their writing work. While Breaking Bad, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Lost, and Mad Men took writing nominations for dramas. Among the other categories, Modern Family and Glee were among the nominees for best new series, while Modern Family, House, 30 Rock, and The Office were among the nominees for actual episodic writing. And The Simpsons have every nomination for animation writing!
View the full nominees. And stay with us and we'll let you know who wins when they are announced on Feb. 20! Let the new awards season begin!

TNT Acquires Off-Network Supernatural Starting January 2010; Spike TV Holiday Stunts

TNT has acquired the basic cable rights to The CW's Supernatural starting Monday, Jan. 4, 2010. The series will air weekdays at 10am starting that morning replacing a third airing of Charmed. Charmed will still air weekday mornings at 8am and 9am ET, so not to worry. Supernatural will not get a launch marathon to start things off, but it will have a President's Day marathon over a month later on Monday, Feb. 15 from 9am-7pm ET. This is the first instance of the series in syndication.
Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, brothers who hunt demons and other figures of the paranormal. The series, which is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup since Fall 2006 and is a mainstay on their Thursday night lineup at 9pm ET.
Recently TNT picked up rights to the canceled drama Southland and will also start production on all-new episodes set to air in March. Repeats air Tuesdays at 10pm starting Jan. 12, as we previously announced. TNT also recently picked-up off-network rights to The Mentalist beginning Fall 2012 and once a week rights starting Fall 2011, also as we previously announced.

Spike TV will interrupt your daily CSI/CSI: NY marathons for all-day marathons this holiday season. Dec. 23 and 24, Spike TV will have movie marathons of Star Wars films. Airing are Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). On Christmas Day itself, it's nothing but the 2003 film Bad Santa starring Billy Bob Thornton, John Ritter and Bernie Mac from 9am-3am. If you haven't seen this yet, now is your chance to watch this very naughty holiday film! On New Year's Eve, it's nothing but The Ultimate Fighter from 9am-6pm and on New Year's Day we get a marathon of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard films. Airing are Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Die Hard (1988), and Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995).

Week 12 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 12 TV Ratings (first three nights, Mon-Wed finals):
(Thursday network averages are not available, so I am only including Mon-Wed this week, but Thursday program finals are available in the analysis below.)

Households: 1. CBS 7.4/11.9 (rating/share); 2. NBC 5.1/8.1; 3. ABC 4.5/7.3; 4. Fox 4.5/7.0; 5. The CW 1.2/1.8
Total Viewers: 1. CBS 11.84 million; 2. NBC 7.98 million; 3. ABC 7.56 million; 4. Fox 7.4 million; 5. The CW 1.74 million.
Adults 18-49: 1. CBS 3.2/8.5 (rating/share); 2. Fox 2.6/6.8; 3. NBC 2.5/6.8; 4. ABC 2.5/6.6; 5. The CW 0.9/2.2

Week 12 (Dec. 7-13) Analysis: For week 12, we are now in the holiday and repeat season. In a slow week, I don't have Thursday final network averages, but so far through the first three days of final numbers, CBS is first in all categories. NBC is in second right now in HH/viewers, while Fox is second in 18-49. ABC is third in HH/viewers, while Fox is fourth. NBC is third in 18-49, while ABC is in fourth. Last week, week 11, CBS beat second place ABC in HH/viewers for a first place finish once again, while Fox prevailed in 18-49 barely. For 18-49 it was very close as NBC, ABC, and CBS were close behind. NBC and Fox battled for third in HH/viewers, with NBC having the edge.
On Monday it was CBS in control with all-new episodes, as Fox didn't air House this week. CBS started with all-new episodes of its comedies and a new CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with doing 8.78 million, while a new Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 7.91 million, decent, but could be better with lesser competition now. Two and a Half Men followed with a new showing doing 14.84 million, good sign, but not as much as up as usual with lesser competition, and The Big Bang Theory followed with new airing of its own doing 14.38 million. A series high of 5.6 18-49 rating is excellent as it thrived with lesser competition. A new CSI: Miami did a below normal 12.72 million. Fox handed the night over to Carrie Underwood, as her special 8.55 million but only a 2.3 18-49 rating. ABC was preempted in the Green Bay/Milwaukee areas for a NFL game, but the rest of the country saw the holiday classic Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town doing a decent 7.6 million. An all-new Find My Family did 5.23 million and only a 1.5 18-49 rating, both down from previous week. A new episode of Castle followed with a decent 7.8 million and built back up from the lead-in. NBC was next with two repeats of Law & Order: SVU instead of the usual Heroes and Trauma doing 6.54 and 5.77 million better than what those dramas usually, but only a 1.4 and 1.6 A18-49 rating. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.68 million, but up from previous week. The CW was all-new with One Tree Hill doing 2.57 million and Gossip Girl doing 2.21 million. Should be better than that.
On Tuesday, CBS and NBC ruled. CBS started with a repeat of NCIS doing 15.09 million. I still don't get it. NCIS: Los Angeles was next with a repeat of its own doing 12.04 million. And finally CBS aired a repeat of The Good Wife doing 9.1 million, the weakest of the night for CBS. NBC was next airing the two-hour season finale of The Biggest Loser doing 13.45 million, up a lot from previous week of course, and the finale also did a nice 5.0 18-49 rating. Then The Jay Leno Show had its best ratings since its premiere week thanks to a large lead-in, as the talk show did 8.33 million. ABC was on the map at 8pm with the all-time classic A Charlie Brown Christmas doing an excellent 11.17 million, followed by the premiere of the all-new Disney Prep & Landing at 8:30pm doing a big 12.04 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating. Both specials are the highest rated Christmas specials this season thus far. Then it was an all-new episode of Scrubs [Med School] doing 5.44 million only and a 2.3 18-49 rating, both up from previous week's premiere. The season premiere of Better off Ted got off to a rocky start though with only 3.82 million. It's a funny show, but people are not watching. At 10pm, the forgotten was a repeat and did 4.26 million and just a 1.2 18-49 rating, but that 18-49 rating was the same as previous week when it was new. Fox aired So You Think You Can Dance and 6.25 million, up from previous week. The CW was next with 90210 doing only 1.91 million, followed by a new Melrose Place at an even worse 1.26 million. Both down from previous week. Lots of competition on this night it seemed for a Tuesday in December!
Wednesday it was CBS on top with ABC doing well in the demo. CBS started with all-new episodes of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried doing 7.49 and 7.01 million. Next CBS aired an all-new Criminal Minds doing a rock solid 14.43 million. CSI: NY was also all-new and did 12.97 million. ABC comedies were next, a repeat of Shrek the Halls won its time slot with 8.43 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. The Middle was all-new and next and did a solid 7.69 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, best showings since the premiere. Modern Family was also all-new and did a very good 9.67 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating. Cougar Town was also all-new but did a below normal 7.01 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating. The comedies will be all-new again on Jan. 6, with guest stars galore! Eastwick was preempted at 10pm for the annual special Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 doing a good 10.55 million. NBC aired a new Mercy doing 7.01 million and Law & Order: SVU was next with an all-new episode doing only 7.92 million, a bit lower than the repeat the previous week. At 10pm NBC aired The Jay Leno Show of course at just 4.5 million, down a million week-to-week. Fox started with So You Think You Can Dance doing 6.69 million, up some from previous week, and Glee was next with its fall finale doing 8.13 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, both basically on par from previous week. The CW aired repeats of Gossip Girl and Victoria's Secret Fashion Show doing 830,000 viewers and 1.7 million.
Thursday it was CBS on top with all-new episodes. ABC was all in repeats, as FLASHFORWARD did only 3.96 million for a repeat. Grey's Anatomy was also a repeat, and did 4.9 million. Private Practice followed with a repeat of its own doing only 3.89 million. Needless to say, these don't repeat well. CBS opened with Survivor: Samoa at a solid 13.25 million and a 4.2 A18-49 rating, both up week-to-week. A new CSI followed with a solid 16.43 million with lesser competition. At 10pm The Mentalist was new and did a similar 16.37 million. Fox was next with an all-new Bones doing 10.9 million, up a million week-to-week and an all-new Fringe doing 6.32 million, down from previous week despite lesser competition. NBC was all-new, with a new Community doing 5.51 million, up a bit from previous week, followed by Parks & Recreation at 4.9 million, also up bit from previous week. The Office was next and all-new and did 8.51 million and a 4.2 A18-49 rating, up some from previous week, followed by a new 30 Rock at 6.7 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, also up the same percentage as the lead-ins. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 4.96 million, but up a tad week-to-week. The CW aired repeats of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural at only 1.75 million and 1.4 million, but up from previous week's repeats.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but NBC won Friday with a special Law & Order and Dateline, as CBS was in repeats. ABC won 10pm with 20/20, and Ugly Betty reached a season high at 9pm.
Saturday numbers were very quiet and low, as Fox won with its usual line-up on a very slow night filled with holiday movies and repeats.
Tonight the ABC has an all-new AFV and a special two-hour Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, but Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters are preempted. ABC has a special at 10pm titled Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special that will generate a big audience.NBC has an NFL game tonight so they will still win the night though with the Giants/Eagles. CBS has an NFL overrun that will keep the competitive, but the latter part of its line-up will be low rated. Fox has new episodes of its comedies from 7-10 that will make them solid in 18-49. Look for CBS to hang on for the week likely in HH/viewers over NFL fueled NBC. CBS and NBC will battle in 18-49, but CBS could hang on. Fox and ABC will battle for third, with ABC likely taking HH/viewers, but Fox in 18-49. As for this coming week, look for a lot of repeats and holiday specials!

Week 12 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 11 -- Nov. 30-Dec. 6)

• Brothers (Fox) - preempted due to NFL.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat following the BCS Selection Show at 8:30pm only did 5.48 million, but that is OK. 2.5 18-49 rating is also OK, but the Selection Show did a 3.7.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 6.13 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating is good for a repeat.
• American Dad (Fox) - Only 4.4 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating for a repeat, dropping a lot from its lead-in.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did a solid 8.78 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating. It should have been up more though since there was no competition.
• Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 7.91 million for a new episode is decent, but CBS Monday comedies do better than this. A 2.8 18-49 rating could be better given the competition and lead-in.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.84 million for a new episode is great, but this show usually explodes a few million when Dancing is on hiatus. Very good still, but I was expecting 16 million+.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A series highs of 14.38 million and a 5.6 18-49 rating, building on the lead-in's 5.0. Very good! But like with the other CBS comedies, could have been higher since there was lesser competition.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Scrubs (ABC) - An all-new episode of the [Med School] edition did a decent 5.44 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, up from previous week's premiere thanks to Prep & Landing airing before it.
• Better off Ted (ABC) - Only 3.82 million for the season premiere. Should have been better, especially with only a 1.5 18-49 rating. Last spring these shows did similar ratings each week.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - A new episode did a decent 7.49 million and an OK 2.2 18-49 rating.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 7.01 million for a new episode was beaten by ABC's competing comedy. 2.3 18-49 rating also was beaten, but it did build from the lead-in in that category.
• The Middle (ABC) - 7.69 million for an all-new showing was at its best since the premiere. 2.4 18-49 rating out of a 2.6 from Shrek the Halls was also a good sign.
• Modern Family (ABC) - An all-new episode for the holidays did an excellent 9.67 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - An all-new episode did 7.01 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, both seem below normal, though. Usually it does around 8 million and a 3.2 18-49. Don't forget ABC Comedy Wednesday returns Jan. 6 with Lisa Kudrow on Cougar Town!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - 5.51 million and 2.2 18-49 rating for a new episode...on par really from previous week.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - 4.9 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, could be better, but it is consistent at least.
• The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 8.51 million and a more telling 4.2 18-49 rating, nearly doubling its lead-in again and up some from previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 6.7 million and 3.2 18-49 rating for a new episode. Both up some from previous week.

Friday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A special repeat following an original animated special didn't draw much with only a prelim 4.55 million and just a prelim 1.4 18-49 rating.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) on Fox are all-new episodes of Brothers and animated comedies from 7-10pm tonight.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, & The Middle were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as 30 Rock, Old Christine) or just plain old terrible (such as Better off Ted, Big Bang Theory Fri repeat).

Blog DVD Review: Peyton Place - Part Two

Welcome to our weekly Saturday Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Shout! Factory's Peyton Place - Part Two. I know this DVD came out in the summer, but we saved it for a "rainy day." Well, it doesn't rain on the Internet, but that means a slow day, and today it is slow. Peyton Place ran from 1964-1969 on ABC and had over 500 episodes! See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Peyton Place - Part Two:

Peyton Place - Part Two (Shout!, $39.99) is the second installment in the "continuing story of Peyton Place." Peyton Place is that quaint series about life in a small New England town where everything is ideally supposed to be happy and cheerful like Mayberry off of The Andy Griffith Show, but actually, as it turns out, Peyton Place is full of drama and scandal. At the end of the Part One DVD release (which, I have to say, you pretty much have to own and watch that set before even looking at this set, otherwise you will be lost), Allison (Mia Farrow) was facing questions about her love life in addition to coming close to finding out the truth about her father (I won't spoil the whole thing for those who haven't seen Part One, but she has been told that her father died, which isn't exactly the truth). Rodney Harrington (Ryan O'Neal) married Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) for what seemed to be a good reason, except Betty had been deceptive and the reasoning was a total lie. Betty's father, George (Henry Buckman) was still battling alcoholism and other life issues. And the strange man, Eliot Carson (Tim O'Connor) had arrived in Peyton Place, and is sure to contribute to even more drama in the "pleasant" New England town.

And that was just Part One! And now, in the "continuing story of Peyton Place," we have 34 more episodes (the packaging actually says 33, but the set contains episodes 32 through 65, and that is 34 episodes by my count), all of the episodes that aired from January 1965 through April 1965. In this part of Peyton Place, the mystery of Eliot Carson could be unraveled at any time, and Constance MacKenzie (Dorothy Malone) needs to do everything in her power to stop it in order to prevent any rifts between her and the new doctor in town, Dr. Rossi (Ed Nelson). The young bride Betty Anderson, having already taken a vow to love Rodney Harrington for better or for worse, has decided to go ahead and go for worse by skipping town on her new husband and mother Julie (Kasey Rogers). George Anderson (Henry Beckman) had already been established to be an alcoholic and an abusive husband, but he is JUST about ready to fly off his rocker this time and be put away (finally). And a new guy has arrived in town, Paul Hanley (Richard Evans), and he is the man responsible for Eliot Carson to prison for all of those years. Just why is he back in town? There is so much more to tell, but it is best to not go into details because otherwise, it will spoil the experience of watching the show.

The packaging is basically the same as the packaging for Part One, with just a standard DVD snapcase with a cardboard sleeve. The overall color scheme is green, and we have a general cast photo for the cover art. Inside, we have five discs, each containing black and white snapshots from the series. Each disc contains seven episodes, except for Disc 5, which contains six episodes. Unfortunately, there are no episode descriptions or even an episode list to be found anywhere in the set, but you have to watch them all in order anyway, so it isn't a HUGE deal.

The menus are very basic, with the theme music playing in the background and options of Play All and Episodes. Audio clips from the series play in the background on the main menu. Each option is self-explanatory. Episodes takes you to a list of episodes, where you can also select to play a preview for each episode. Once you select an episode, it plays immediately. There are plenty of chapters within each episode.

The video and audio quality of the set is mostly fine, but it isn't the greatest on all episodes. As far as the video is concerned, there are many grain issues and some serious black level issues on a few episodes. The audio is presented in mono and is fully of hissing and crackling, although I guess the good news is that the audio does not seem to suffer from the common compression issues that audio tracks on most TV shows on DVD seem to suffer. Maybe it is just that it is less pronounced by the other audio issues. Of course, I have to say that the problems aren't too big, but it is just important to note these problems. Each episode is closed-captioned, and the episodes all seem to be unedited, running around 25 minutes per episode.

There are no special features to be found anywhere on this set. It's a shame, but it isn't too bad, because this series kind of speaks for itself, plus special features have a tendency to be centered around one or a few episodes. This series is one where you can't just think about one or two episodes, and instead have to consider the series as a whole.

I never watched or knew anything at all about this series before seeing these DVDs. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I only discovered it because Shout! Factory shipped this set (as well as Part One) to me by mistake, and upon watching the DVDs, I thought it was worthy of reviewing and sharing with TV fans everywhere. I have been impressed with the series, and for an early '60s TV series, it was at least a decade ahead with the mature storylines and not being afraid to go in to controversial topics (teen pregnancy, anybody?). It is almost like the primetime soap operas that dominated the airwaves 15 to 20 years later (think Dallas, Dynasty, etc.), except without all of the cheesy (though admittedly fun) over-the-top catfights and deception that those series thrived in. It is a great show that fans of family dramas are certain to love.

Unfortunately, there is some less than positive news about the future of this series on DVD, although it is nothing definitive. Shout! Factory has exhausted the episodes that they had licensed from 20th Century Fox, and have to work on getting the rights for more episodes. According to Brian Ward, who posted on the Shout! Factory message boards, Shout! Factory is eager and willing to put out more episodes as the series did very well by their standards, but 20th Century Fox is reluctant to release more episodes due to sales that don't meet the standards of Fox (keep in mind, this is a company that uses series such as Family Guy as a benchmark). Hopefully, though, this situation will work out for the best and we'll see more of the "continuing story of Peyton Place."

Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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WGN America's Outta Sight Retro Night Expands in January 2010; Changes on Good Morning America

WGN America is changing the late night portion of their Sunday night Outta Sight Retro Night block come January 2010. Changes that are happening will have another hour of Newhart at 12am ET (9pm PT), replacing ALF, which is now gone. The good news is that Outta Sight Retro Night will be expanded by two more hours, as 2am and 3am ET are now in! Second hours of Becker and The Cosby Show are added, replacing Nash Bridges and South Park. So, if you're confused, here is how the Sunday night block looks like come Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010:
6-7pm ET Becker, 7-8pm ET The Cosby Show, 8-9pm ET Newhart, 9-10pm ET Barney Miller, then a break for the WGN news, 11pm-12am ET Cheers, 12am-1am ET Newhart, 1-2am ET Barney Miller, 2-3am ET Becker, and 3-4am ET The Cosby Show. So as you can see, everything has a second hour now but Cheers.
As for a couple of December updates, Outta Sight Retro Night will have a special holiday episode marathon on Sunday, Dec. 20 with a few shows airing at special times. Holiday episodes start at 8pm ET following the movie It's a Very Muppet Christmas, we get holiday episodes of Newhart, Barney Miller, then news, Cheers, Becker, and The Cosby Show. ALF is preempted on this night and will have its last airing for now on Dec. 27 at 12am ET.
And finally, WGN America has added an In the Heat of the Night movie marathon on New Year's Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31) from 10am-8pm ET.
View our previous story on WGN America's Holiday Programming.

ABC is pleased to announce that George Stephanopoulos and Juju Chang will be joining Good Morning America, effective Monday (December 14). In addition, Chris Cuomo will take over as co-anchor of 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas.
Here is David Westin's (ABC News President) announcement of the changes is below:
I'm pleased to announce that beginning Monday, our new anchor team at Good Morning America will be in place and on the air. George Stephanopoulos and Juju Chang will be joining Robin and Sam. Chris Cuomo will be promoted to co-anchor of 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas and serve as ABC News' Chief Law and Justice Correspondent, joining Jim Avila. George will also take on the role of Chief Political Correspondent and he will continue to anchor This Week (Sunday morning show) until we name his replacement.
In putting this new GMA team together, we've pursued one goal: How can we best serve our audience? How can we bring them what matters most to them - the day's important news, engaging stories, useful information, and real expertise to help them improve their lives?
Robin and George are the right pair to lead our effort. As we've seen over time, Robin brings a warmth and intelligence to the morning that no one can match. Hers is a practical curiosity that brings the viewers' questions to the fore. George complements Robin's strengths with a deep knowledge of and commitment to news about the nation and the world. George is a formidable interviewer who brings the viewer a deeper understanding of the great issues of the day through his conversations with experts and newsmakers.
Sam Champion brings his knowledge and enthusiasm to weather, climate, and the environment. Juju, our new news anchor, has distinguished herself covering the news of every sort – from national and world events to the everyday experiences of parents and families.
Chris Cuomo has done it all – from newscasts in the morning, to covering major events from the field (around the country and around the world), to powerful primetime reporting. In addition to joining the team at 20/20, he will also step into the role of our lead reporter for all programs on major law and justice stories. And, he will continue to be one of the first people we turn to when news happens.
Eleven years ago next month, Diane Sawyer came to GMA for a temporary stint that at the time we expected to be a few months. Now, she will be taking over as anchor of World News on December 21, succeeding Charlie Gibson. One cannot describe all that she has done for GMA; nor can we fully express our gratitude. The best way to honor what Diane has done – and what Charlie did before and with her – is to continue the great tradition while building on the foundation they have laid. This new team will do just that. Each member individually contributes a great deal; the whole, however, will exceed even the large sum of the parts. Together with Jim Murphy and Tom Cibrowski we will redouble the program's focus on the engaging stories and useful news and information that matters most to our audience, delivering the kind of reporting that most reflects the strengths of ABC News.
Please join me in congratulating all of our colleagues on their new assignments.

BET's Ten Straight Days of Sitcom Marathons; FX Orders Second Season Of The League

This holiday season BET gears up with sitcom marathons! Starting Monday, December 21, you'll get 10 full days of sitcom marathons! Things kick off with a marathon of One on One on Monday, Dec. 21 from 10am-6pm. That series is not airing regularly on BET anymore, so it is nice to see it air. Then the very next day, Tuesday, December 22, we have a marathon of Sister, Sister! The twin fun airs from 10am-6pm, as this series is only airing Saturday mornings now (9am-12pm) on BET. Then the next three days spend your Christmas and get your game on with The Game. On Wednesday, December 23 it is a season one marathon from 10am-11pm, with select episodes airing again from 1am-3am. On Christmas Eve during the same time periods, we have a season two marathon. And on Christmas Day itself during the same time periods, we have a season three marathon. On Kwanzaa, Saturday, Dec. 26, spend your Saturday with The Jamie Foxx Show from 9am-9pm. The sitcom will lead into the BET premiere of the big screen movie Miami Vice starring Jamie Foxx. After the movie airs from 9pm-12am, we have a classic marathon of the '80s Miami Vice TV series from 12am-4am, which airs regularly on sister network Centric. Then on Sunday, December 27 from 1pm-6pm a marathon of The Steve Harvey Show will air. That series also airs regularly on sister network Centric.
The following week will see three more marathons! On Monday, Dec. 28, we have a marathon of Family Matters from 10am-11pm. Urkel and company air regularly on sister network Nick at Nite. On Tuesday, Dec. 29, it is more Family Matters from 10am-3pm. And finally on Wednesday, Dec. 30, the 10 straight days of marathon concludes with a marathon of Nickelodeon's True Jackson, V.P. from 10am-3pm. Movies such as Crooklyn and Juwanna Man will also air on Dec. 29 and 30, since the marathons end early on these two days.

FX's freshman comedy The League has been picked up for a second season with an expanded order of 13 episodes from FX Productions.
Season two is scheduled to return in late summer of 2010. The first season finale of The League airs tonight (Thursday, Dec. 10) at 10:30 PM ET/PT, immediately following the season five finale of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at 10:00 PM.
Episode five of The League (12/3/09) was the second highest-rated of the season, ahead of the premiere and behind episode two. Through five episodes, the series is averaging 1.06 million viewers and 863,000 viewers Adults 18-49. Compared to year ago time period, The League has grown 44% among Adults 18-49, 65% in Adults 18-34, and 107% in Men 18-34. The delivery of Adults 18-34 (680,000) are 61% higher than the first season of Sunny (419,000), and 16% more in Adults 18-49 (Sunny season one, 747,000).
FX is raising the stakes in comedy. In addition to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, the network will debut the new animated series Archer on Thursday, January 14 at 10:00 PM ET/PT, and Louie, starring stand-up comedian/actor Louis C.K. in the spring. FX has ordered ten episodes of Archer and 13 of Louie. FX previously ordered seasons six and seven of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, with season six scheduled to launch next summer.
Set against the backdrop of a fantasy football league, The League is about friendship, marriage, parenting, and growing upor refusing to grow up. It was created by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld) and Jackie Marcus Schaffer (Disturbia, EuroTrip) who serve as executive producers. The ensemble features Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton and Jon Lajoie. The series is produced by FX Productions.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Coming to Logo and MTV in January 2010; Minor Nick at Nite Changes

If you all remember when we announced that Grounded for Life was coming to MTV, at the end I mentioned a teen drama was also coming to MTV soon...now it is time to announce that drama! The teen drama is... Buffy the Vampire Slayer! The classic 1997-2003 The WB series (and later UPN) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar will join the Viacom owned MTV and also sister network Logo in January 2010.
It first launches on Logo with a marathon on New Year's Day (Friday, Jan. 1, 2010), from 6am-12am ET! That's 18 hours of kicking vampire butt! Buffy joins The L Word and Queer as Folk as other scripted dramas on Logo. Buffy will regularly air on Logo weeknights at 6pm & 7pm and also 2am & 3am starting Jan. 4. It will also air at various times on weekends, such as Fridays in primetime at 9pm & 10pm, and weekend mornings. Keep an eye out, because weekends are not the same every week...there will be a whole lotta Buffy, though!
As for MTV, the series premieres with an 8-hour marathon on Sunday, January 10, 2010 starting at 11am. Then it will regularly air on MTV weekdays at 11am starting Monday, January 11 following hours of Grounded for Life and Degrassi.
The airings on Logo and MTV mark the first time Buffy has been on cable since FX stopped airing the show last fall, when they had relegated to weekend mornings. Buffy aired on and off on FX from 2001-2008.
At the young age of 16, Buffy Summers was chosen to hunt vampires, demons, and the
forces of darkness. After the ordeal at Hemery High, Buffy Summers wound up at Sunnydale High. Joined with Willow Rosenberg and Alexander "Xander" Harris, and her watcher Giles, Buffy fights the challenges of High School and saves the world...a lot. Some of the guest stars over the years on Buffy included John Ritter, Nathan Fillion, and Ashanti.

There has been a few minor Nick at Nite changes that have recently happened. Since Monday (Dec. 7), the weekdays 6-7am hour is now Family Matters, as it was only airing Tuesdays and Thursdays before. The Nanny was airing Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays....but now Family Matters is fully on weekdays. Weekends remain the same with Family Matters in the 6am hour and The Nanny on Sundays in that hour. On Friday nights, Everybody Hates Chris will now air at 2am instead of 1:30am, as George Lopez encore will air in the 1am hour now. Previously it was The Nanny at 1am and Chris at 1:30am. And finally, Malcolm in the Middle late nights on weekends are now gone. They were airing Saturday and Sunday nights in the 1am hour, now we get another hour of The Nanny instead, now from 11pm-2am.
We previously mentioned that next week (Dec. 14), will have George Lopez air 9-11pm on Mon-Thurs, and as of now it is still happening. It is only for that week.
View the updated changes for Nick at Nite December 2009 and stay with us in the coming weeks for the January 2010 schedule and highlights!

George Lopez Sitcom Reunion on Lopez Tonight Next Week; Around the TV Horn

Watch out! There is going to be a George Lopez show reunion on his TBS Lopez Tonight talk show next Tuesday! Orale! George Lopez aired on ABC from 2002-2007, you 'member, 'member? The entire cast of the sitcom will get together on George's new late night talk show next Tuesday (December 15, 2009) on TBS! Reuniting with George will be Constance Marie (Angie), Belita Moreno (Benny), Valente Rodriguez (Ernie), Masiela Lusha (Carmen), Luis Armand Garcia (Max), and Aimee Garcia (Veronica). Wapppah! Cannot wait! But sabes que, the only other regular missing it seems is Emiliano Díez, who played Angie's father, Vic. Ta loca, why no Vic? Anyway, spread the word (like this blog story) that next Tuesday at 11, tune into Lopez Tonight on TBS for the George Lopez sitcom reunion! If there are any more updates on this we'll let you know! I got this!
Lopez Tonight airs Mon-Thurs at 11:00pm ET/PT on TBS! And you can watch reruns of George Lopez on Nick at Nite every night at 10pm & 10:30pm. Sheeeoww!!

It's time for another edition of Notes from Around the TV Horn! As The World Turns, the long-running daytime drama, will complete its final season on the CBS Television Network in September 2010. CBS has decided not to renew the show for the 2010/2011 broadcast season, thereby ending its 54-year run on CBS. The epitome of multi-generational, serial storytelling, As The World Turns has been entertaining generations of fans for more than half a century. The show boasts a well-loved and long-tenured cast, including actress Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) who spoke the first words on the premier broadcast of ATWT in 1956. To this day, Nancy is still at the helm of the Hughes family, earning Wagner the distinction of portraying the longest-running character in television history. ATWT joins Guiding Light, which ended this past September, as a canceled long-running soap opera.
First-run syndicated series The Bonnie Hunt Show will go off the air after the end of this season. The Warner Bros. produced series is currently in its second season. The series is averaging only a 0.8 household rating.
Meanwhile, Twentieth Century Fox's Judge Alex and Divorce Court have both been renewed through the 2011-12 season. For next season, 2010-11, each program is cleared in 75% of the country and in the top 15 markets as of now, including on the Fox Television Stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago. B&C reports that Twentieth is also offering off-network Nat Geo's Dog Whisperer to stations for fall 2010 and off-net FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for fall 2011, as well as renewing Fox's Family Guy for a second cycle. The company also is marketing Family Guy spin-off, American Dad!, for a possible fall 2011 launch. Stay with us for more on this at NATPE next month!

A reminder that ABC will air the new holiday special Disney Prep & Landing tonight at 8:30pm, followed by an all-new Scrubs, and the season premiere of Better off Ted at 9:30pm! Watch!

TV Land Cuts 3rd Rock from the Sun Tuesday Block; NBC Slices 100 Questions Order

TV Land is making a last minute schedule change on Tuesday nights in their PRIME block. Effective Tuesday, December 8, 2009 (tomorrow!), Roseanne takes over the Tuesday 10pm-12am block replacing 3rd Rock from the Sun, which goes off the regular schedule again. This is only temporary as Home Improvement will take this block come January.
As for 3rd Rock from the Sun, fans can still watch the holiday episodes on the 10th Annual Merrython on Sunday (Dec. 13)at 12:30am & 1am and again on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) at 2am & 2:30am. TV Land has rights to the series until next October, so it could reappear once again on the regular schedule.
View the updated TV Land December 2009 schedule and highlights.

NBC's upcoming mid-season sitcom 100 Questions has just had its episode order cut from 13 to 6. It makes sense since the earliest it could launch is in March, as NBC has already announced their January/February plans.
100 Questions is a multicamera comedy unlike the four NBC comedies currently on the air, which are single-camera. However, the network is developing mostly multicamera sitcoms for next season, the HR reports. The sitcom, which underwent recasting of several roles after upfront, stars Brit Sophie Winkleman as a young woman looking for love who joins a popular online dating site.
It is is still unclear of the launch date and the night and time the series will air. It will likely give a 6-week break to either Community or Parks & Recreation. Both of those series have done not too well in the ratings, but have been ordered for a full 22 episode season.
Also, scripted series wise NBC has the upcoming four-hour mini-series Day One, which they canceled as a regular series and the family drama Parenthood, which as of now still has a 13 episode order and will likely launch right after the Winter Olympics end.
ABC also cut the episode order of their mid-season multicamera sitcom Romantically Challenged, but from 13 to 7 episodes due to not enough time to air 13 episodes. A night and time has not been announced yet for that series as well.

Week 11 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 11 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thurs finals):

Households: 1. CBS 6.1/9.8 (rating/share); 2. Fox 4.9/7.7; 3. NBC 4.3/6.9; 4. ABC 4.2/6.7; 5. The CW 1.1/2.7
Total Viewers: 1. CBS 9.67 million; 2. Fox 7.97 million; 3. NBC 6.73 million; 4. ABC 6.63 million; 5. The CW 1.59 million.
Adults 18-49: 1. Fox 2.9/7.7 (rating/share); 2. CBS 2.7/7.3; 3. NBC 2.3/6.0; 4. ABC 2.1/5.6; 5. The CW 0.8/2.0

Week 11 (Nov. 30-Dec. 6) Analysis: For week 11, November sweeps is now over so now we are heading towards the holidays and repeats. In a slow week, so far through the first four days of final numbers, CBS is first in HH/viewers, while Fox thus far has the 18-49 lead. Fox is second in HH/viewers, while CBS is second in 18-49. NBC and ABC is battling for third right now, with NBC with the edge actually. Last week, week 10, CBS beat second place ABC in HH/viewers for a first place finish, while Fox prevailed in 18-49 dethroning ABC, who won the previous two weeks. CBS and NBC was tied for second in 18-49, with ABC right behind them by only 0.1. Fox and NBC battled for third in HH/viewers. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend really affected the ratings in week 10.
On Monday it was Fox on top, with Dancing with the Stars now over on ABC and CBS in repeats. Fox started with House doing a solid 13.25 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, both up week-to-week with less competition, followed by Lie to Me at only 7.49 million, but up some from previous week. Next up was CBS with repeats of its comedies and a repeat of CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with a repeat doing 6.09 million, while a repeat of Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 5.27 million, they are repeats but could be better since CBS Monday comedies usually repeat better. Two and a Half Men followed with a repeat doing 11.38 million, nice showing for a repeat, and The Big Bang Theory followed with a repeat of its own doing 10.09 million, also a good showing for a repeat. 3.2 18-49 rating for a repeat is also good. A repeat of CSI: Miami did 9.48 million, seems lower than usual for a repeat. ABC was preempted in the New England area for a NFL game, but the rest of the country saw the holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas doing a solid 9.2 million, followed by the new classic Shrek the Halls doing a solid 9.15 million. Would have done better with the Boston area mixed in. The first new Find My Family did 6.95 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, both down big from previous week's half-hour preview. A repeat of Castle followed with a decent 6.01 million. A new Castle airs tomorrow! NBC was next with Heroes doing 5.39 million, up a bit from the previous week. A new episode of Trauma followed and did only 5.36 million and only a 1.6 A18-49 rating, both down a tad from the previous week. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.18 million, down from previous week despite facing two repeats on CBS and ABC. The CW was all-new with One Tree Hill doing 2.4 million and Gossip Girl doing 2.23 million. Should be better than that.
On Tuesday, the President had an address to nation in the 8pm ET hour, affecting programming for the night. Ratings for the address do not count. The address ended at 8:36pm ET. CBS followed the address with an Analysis of the address doing 8.95 million (as I'm sure many were waiting for NCIS). A repeat of NCIS followed at a special time of 9pm doing 14.28 million. How?? NCIS: Los Angeles was preempted due to the address to the nation. And finally CBS preempted The Good Wife for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show special doing a solid 8.01 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating. Seems below normal, though. NBC was next airing a 15-minute joined in progress repeat of The Biggest Loser at 8:45pm ET following the Presidential Address doing 6.13 million, followed by two-hours of The Biggest Loser at a special time of 9-11pm doing 9.99 million, up a million from previous week when it was on 8-10pm, so the The Jay Leno Show was preempted for the first time this season...and look how well NBC did at 10pm this week. ABC aired the Presidential Address, followed by a joined in progress repeat of Modern Family at 8:38pm ET doing 4.7 million. Then it was the season premiere of Scrubs [Med School] doing 4.63 and 4.43 million only, but the 18-49 demo was decent at a 2.0 for both episodes. The show will do better with a Prep & Landing lead-in this week. At 10pm, the forgotten was all-new and did only 5.48 million and just a 1.2 18-49 rating. Fox aired So You Think You Can Dance from 8:36-10:36pm ET after the Presidential Address and did only 5.84 million, but up some from previous week. The CW was next with 90210 doing 2.15 million, followed by a new Melrose Place at an even worse 1.41 million.
Wednesday it was CBS on top in a lower than usual night. CBS started with the all-time classic Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer doing a decent 10.59 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, both seem lower than usual though. Old Christine and Gary Unmarried were preempted. Next CBS didn't do well with the Grammy Nomination Concert doing only 6.28 million. Criminal Minds was next at 10pm at a special time with a repeat doing 8.05 million. CSI: NY was preempted. ABC comedies were next, a repeat of Modern Family did a decent 5.65 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. The Middle was all-new and next and did 6.19 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, not bad mixed in with an all-repeat night. Modern Family was a repeat and did 6.5 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, not bad for a repeat. Cougar Town was also a repeat and did 5.14 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating. The comedies will be all-new again this Tuesday with Christmas episodes! Eastwick was new though and did 4.25 million, but up from previous week at least. NBC preempted Mercy again for the annual special Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center doing 8.69 million and Law & Order: SVU was next with a repeat doing a decent 8.12 million. At 10pm NBC aired The Jay Leno Show of course at just 5.52 million, but up week-to-week. Fox started with So You Think You Can Dance doing 6.27 million, up from previous week, and Glee was next at 8.15 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, both up with less competition than normal. The CW aired repeats of Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries doing 990,000 viewers and 1.04 million.
Thursday it was CBS on top with mostly repeats. ABC started with the fall finale of FLASHFORWARD doing only 7.07 million, but ABC was preempted in Buffalo for the NFL game. What luck. Grey's Anatomy was totally preempted, as ABC went with a two-hour all-new Private Practice doing a solid 9.21 million. What an episode! CBS opened with Survivor: Samoa at a solid 12.82 million and a 3.9 A18-49 rating. A repeat of CSI followed with a solid 9.9 million. At 10pm The Mentalist was also a repeat and did an even better 10.74 million. Fox was next with an all-new Bones doing 9.92 million and an all-new Fringe doing an improved 6.94 million. NBC was all-new, with a new Community doing 5.42 million, followed by Parks & Recreation at 4.8 million, still could be better. The Office was next and all-new and did 8.05 million and a 4.1 A18-49 rating, followed by a new 30 Rock at 6.08 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating. Nothing special. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 4.72 million, down week-to-week, yes it did better on Thanksgiving night. The CW aired repeats of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural at only 1.33 million and 1.19 million, but they were preempted in NY for the Jets NFL game.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but CBS won Friday with new episodes of their dramas as usual but they were down from normal, especially Medium. Monk had its series finale on USA Network.
Saturday numbers had ABC's College Football prevailing in all areas by a big margin, as they aired The Big-12 Championship Game as Texas won in the final second to advance to the BCS Championship Game (airing Jan. 7 on ABC).
Tonight the full ABC Sunday line-up is on (AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters) look for solid ratings with big episodes of Housewives and Brothers tonight. Fall finales of both. NBC has an NFL game tonight so they will win the night though with media sensation Brett Favre in action. CBS has the Amazing Race season finale at 8pm that should compete, but everything else will be in the low 2's in 18-49. Fox has repeats of its comedies from 8:30-10 and an NFL overrun and the BCS Selection Show. Look for CBS to win the week likely in HH/viewers over ABC. 18-49 is up in the air, I think Fox will take it thanks to an overrun of the Giants/Cowboys and the BCS Selection Show. NBC could be second though, with ABC and CBS battling for third in 18-49. As for this coming week, look for the new holiday special Prep & Landing Tuesday at 8:30pm on ABC that should do VERY big and the season premiere of Better off Ted at 9:30pm Tuesday on ABC, part of ABC "Twosday" with Scrubs!

Week 11 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 10 -- Nov. 23-29)

• Brothers (Fox) - preempted due to NFL.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - 8.87 million tuned in for a new episode at 8pm, up 2 million from the previous week thanks to a NFL lead-in. 4.2 18-49 rating was also up sharply from previous week, when there was no NFL lead-in.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 7.17 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating. Up from previous week by a bit, but not as much as the lead-in.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 8.5 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating is excellent for a new showing...and both up from previous week.
• American Dad (Fox) - 6.38 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating...up from previous week.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 6.09 million...nothing to complain since it was a repeat.
• Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 5.27 million for a repeat. That seems low for a CBS comedy on Monday.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.38 million for a repeat, more than doubling its lead-in. 3.2 18-49 rating, too. And it was a repeat...
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - Didn't build on the lead-in as it did the previous week, but a repeat still did 10.09 million. 3.2 18-49 rating is also excellent for a repeat, holding 100% from the lead-in. Only gripe is, this doesn't repeat as well as Men...but I'm not complaining.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Scrubs (ABC) 2 episodes - The season premiere was affected by President Obama. Instead of having an all-new holiday special as its lead-in, it got Obama and a Modern Family repeat that was joined in progress. The two episode premiere did 4.63 million and 4.43 million, but a 2.0 18-49 rating for both episodes. It should do much better this week with the holiday special Prep & Landing as the lead-in. If it can do 6 million and more than 2.5 18-49 rating this week, then ABC will be happy if the new holiday special does major (over 15 million and a 5 18-49).
• Modern Family (ABC) - A joined in progress repeat at 8:38pm ET did 4.7 million following the Presidential Address in the East/Central. Out west it aired in its entirety following a repeat of The Middle, but that doesn't count in the ratings.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - preempted.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted.
• The Middle (ABC) - 6.19 million for an all-new showing of this underrated family comedy. Another great episode and decent ratings sandwiched between repeats.
• Modern Family (ABC) 2 episodes - A repeat at 8pm did 5.65 million, not bad. Another repeat at 9pm, in its normal time, did a solid 6.5 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating...good for ABC as their shows don't repeat too well.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A repeat did 5.14 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating. Don't forget ABC Comedy Wednesday is all-new this Wednesday with holiday episodes! ABC Comedy Holiday Wednesday!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - 5.42 million and 2.2 18-49 rating for a new episode...an improvement.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - 4.8 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, could be better, but it is consistent at least.
• The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 8.05 million and a more telling 4.1 18-49 rating, nearly doubling its lead-in.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 6.08 million and 3.0 18-49 rating for a new episode. Looks like last fall with the Palin effect was this show's high watermark. I don't think it will ever go above 8 million ever again.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A special repeat at 8pm did only a 1.4 million in prelim numbers. That was expected.
• The Office (NBC) - A special repeat at 10:30pm following a movie from 8:30-10:30 did a prelim 3.74 million...that's better. Why didn't NBC air this at 8 and Parks at 10:30?
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 8:30-10pm tonight, but they are repeats.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Office & Modern Family 9pm were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Middle, How I Met Your Mother) or just plain old terrible (such as Scrubs, Parks and Recreation Sat repeat).

Better off Ted Season 2 Premiere Preview (Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC)

We interrupt our weekly blog DVD review for a special preview of the Better off Ted season premiere! We apologize for preempting our weekly blog DVD review, but we didn't have anything to review (very slow month for DVDs it seems!). But of course that doesn't mean we will take the day off! Oh no sirree, we have a preview of this Tuesday's (Dec. 8) Better off Ted season premiere on ABC with guest star Taye Diggs (Private Practice), along with the second episode airing this season on Dec. 15.

I had the pleasure to watch the first two episodes of the upcoming season of this hilarious and smart comedy. On the season premiere, "Love Blurts" (airing Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC), Veridian Dynamics tries matchmaking employees based on their genetic compatibility in hopes of saving on health insurance bills from imperfectly bred children. Ted and Linda balk at this until they meet their supposed matches -- Greg (special guest star Taye Diggs) for Linda and Danielle (guest star Virginia Williams) for Ted -- and are instantly attracted despite themselves. Meanwhile, after Veronica finds out Lem is her perfect genetic match, she hounds him to make a donation to a sperm bank.
My thoughts of the episode: This is actually the sixth episode produced for the second season but they are using it as their season premiere, because it is HILARIOUS! It has the same vibe from some of the hilarious episodes of last season, with lots of wacky and funny situations that just make this show one of the funniest sitcoms on TV currently! On this episode, the whole idea that a company would match up their employees romantically to save on health insurance bills is genius! President Obama should think of that! Linda and Ted agree they won't go on the fixed dates that Veridian has assigned them, but Ted for some reason agreed...and Linda turned hers down, but when Ted tells her he agreed to his, Linda went back and agreed to hers. Taye Diggs guest stars as Linda's date Greg. And the subplots of Lem having to donate his sperm to Veronica is hilarious, as is finding out the reason why the company wants to give a vasectomy to Phil so he doesn't have any children. He even researches his family tree (Mymen Family Tree) on Wikipedia to see if his family has had any abnormalities! So will Veridian succeed in this new system? You'll have to tune in, wheeeeeeeeeeee! You'll get why I said wheeeeeeeee when you watch the season premiere.

On the second episode of the season, "The Lawyer, The Lemur and The Little Listener" (airing Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC), when a wave of layoff hits Veridian and little Rose (Ted's daughter) seems to have inside info because of a friend in her Hive playgroup at Veridian, Veronica tries to pump her for information, much to Ted's disapproval. Meanwhile, Linda is elated to sell her first children's book -- until someone points out that her lead character, a lemur, is the spitting image of Phil -- and Lem starts a passionate affair with one of the company lawyers (guest star Chelsey Crisp), only to find out that his paycheck is being docked for the "billable hours" he's spending with his new girlfriend.
My thoughts of the episode: This is actually the fourth episode produced for the second season but they are using it as their second episode of the season. This episode is not as good as the season premiere, but it still has the feel of Better off Ted with its wacky, peculiar, and smart ways of getting viewers to laugh. First off, Lem is having a relationship with Nadine, a company lawyer...but later finds out whenever he sees her, he is being charged for his services despite nothing legal related! And the subplot of Ted and Veronica having Ted's little daughter find out key information about their employees from their kids is hilarious! And Linda is writing a children's book, and the main character looks like...Phil! She finds out she can't do anything with the book, because the company would get the profit. My this company is crazy! They even have an extraction team when a person is let go to personally come and get them out of the office and clear their office! Only at Veridian Dynamics!

Tune in to the all-new season starting this Tuesday at 9:30/8:30 central on ABC!

And here's our full DVD review of Better off Ted: The Complete First Season. Buy your copy today!

ABC Announces March 2010 Return Dates for FLASHFORWARD and V; Comcast to Manage NBC with Merger with GE

ABC has announced a few more midseason dates! First off, as you all saw last night at the end of FLASHFORWARD, ABC said it will bring the show back in March now instead of January, so it can air repeat-free and avoid the Winter Olympics (Feb. 12-28). FLASHFORWARD will return on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8pm for 12 straight repeat-free weeks. 14 hours are left of the 24 hour season, so two times ABC will air two-hour episodes to fit them in during these 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, ABC has also announced that V will return Tuesday, March 30, 2010, but not in its 8pm slot it had in November. It will air at 10pm following LOST! 9 episodes remain in the first season.
As previously announced, Ugly Betty will air Wednesdays at 10 starting Jan. 6, Shark Tank Fridays at 9 starting January 8, and LOST will return Feb. 2, airing Tuesdays at 9pm.
There is still plenty of other midseason news to come for ABC, such as a return date for Dancing with the Stars, and premiere dates for Jamie Oliver series, The Deep End, Happy Town, and Romantically Challenged. ABC also has Wife Swap and Primetime: What Would You Do? waiting on the bench. As soon as they announce it, we'll let you know. So far only Fox has announced its full second half schedule. NBC has only announced Jan/Feb, while CBS has not announced anything yet. The CW has announced a bit, as well as ABC...but nothing full yet. So, stay with us, but for now view more on this FLASHFORWARD and V return dates!

Comcast and General Electric officially announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that will be 51 percent owned by Comcast, 49 percent owned by GE and managed by Comcast. The joint venture, which will consist of the NBC Universal businesses and Comcast's cable networks, regional sports networks and certain digital properties and certain unconsolidated investments, will be well positioned to compete in an increasingly dynamic and competitive media and digital environment.
The joint venture will provide consumers the broadest possible access to content, and support high-quality, award-winning content development across all platforms including film, television, and online. It will be anchored by an outstanding portfolio of cable networks and regional sports networks that will account for about 80 percent of its cash flow, including USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, Versus, CNBC and MSNBC. The joint venture will be financially strong with a robust cash-flow-generation capability.
View the full press release, so you know the full details of this deal.