SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Digital Digest: Matlock - The Seventh Season DVD Review; Rocko's Modern Life - Season Two DVD Review

Welcome to Digital Digest! We're back once again on this three day weekend (for some of us) with all of your regular news, a look at next week's releases, our Click of the Week, and as a bonus, we've got not one, but two reviews for you this weekend, with our reviews of Matlock - The Seventh Season and Rocko's Modern Life - Season Two. Let's get going!

DIGITAL NEWS

Fans of the '80s series Cagney & Lacey have been dying to see more since MGM's 2007 release of Cagney & Lacey - Season One (The True Beginning), which was actually the second season of the series, but that wait is about to end. TVShowsOnDVD.com has been reporting, and keeping us updated over the past few months, on VEI's plans to release a DVD set of the entire series, including the real first season and pilot movie, hopefully sometime this year. No exact date has been given yet, and details are still very sketchy at this time, so you can't pre-order the series just yet. But if you're just dying to see some Cagney & Lacey now, don't forget that you can catch every episode of the series (including the elusive first season) for free on Hulu. We certainly hope that more classic series will be coming along as well from VEI; there are a few classic Universal drama series which we won't mention (for now) in the rumor mill, and if these series end up becoming official announcements, we'll let you know!

Image is continuing their releases of The Dick Van Dyke Show with another best-of release, and this time it is 20 of Carl Reiner's favorites. The Dick Van Dyke Show - Carl Reiner's Favorites is set for release of May 1 at a $24.98 MSRP. Of course, if you would rather just own the entire series, which is one of the best complete series releases out there, you could just skip this upcoming release and pick up The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (February 21) is another busy day for releases. Shout! Factory has two releases, with their release of Hazel - The Complete Second Season and their Shout! Select release of Simon & Simon - Season Six. You can see our review of Hazel here, and we'll have a review of Simon & Simon soon in Digital Digest. Lionsgate brings new releases of popular Showtime series to DVD and Blu-ray Disc, with Weeds - Season Seven (DVD/Blu-ray) and Nurse Jackie - Season Three (DVD/Blu-ray). Reviews of both of these sets will be forthcoming before Tuesday's release. Fans of Andy Griffith's classic legal drama can enjoy the latest release of Matlock - The Seventh Season, which we have a review of in today's Digital Digest. Finally, Mill Creek brings a little bit of animated fun to DVD with their release of Heathcliff - Season One, Volume One, which brings all of the first 32 episodes of that series to DVD for the first time. We hope to have a review of this set soon.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

Blog DVD Review: Matlock - The Seventh Season (CBS Home Entertainment, $49.99)

by skees53

Matlock is back with Matlock - The Seventh Season, a set containing all fourteen episodes of the 1992-1993 season (the first to air on ABC) in a five disc set. The classic legal drama continues with the classic format of Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith) finding the truth and proving his client innocent, despite all odds. This season, his colleague Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard) is back, but he is joined by his daughter and new partner, Leanne (Brynn Thayer) and recent law school graduate Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck).

The season begins with the double-length episode "The Vacation," where a father/daughter road trip makes Matlock the target of a vendetta. In the double-length episode "The Legacy," Matlock's latest investigation leads to a long and complex history of adultery, cover-ups, and family secrets. Matlock defends a widow accused of an accused murderer in "The Ghost." Matlock's special lecture in a law school class about the perfect murder may have had disastrous results in "The Class." In "The Singer," a producer is accused of killing his country singer client. A $250,000 lottery winner returns to town in "The Mark," but he is quickly swindled out of his fortune and you know that always means trouble. Matlock gets to experience law a different way when he has jury duty in "The Juror."

In "The Fortune," Matlock must come to the defense of an eccentric millionaire's nephew when his uncle is murdered. Leanne's ex-husband is accused of murder in "The Debt," but Matlock refuses to defend him--so it is up to his ex-wife to take on the task. Matlock is in trouble after witnessing a convenience store robbery in "The Revenge." In "The Obsession," Matlock can't stop obsessing about his latest case, when while he is in the hospital. Matlock and Leanne are on opposing sides when representing a husband and wife getting a divorce in "The Divorce." Matlock investigates the murder of a former football player and his wife in "The Final Affair." The season ends with "The Competition," where a talented young piano player allegedly commits suicide, except her father doesn't believe it... and neither does Matlock.

As far as I can tell, the episodes are unedited, though I can't be certain. The runtimes as follows:

Disc 1:

1. "The Vacation" (1:33:33)

2. "The Legacy" (1:31:09)

Disc 2:

3. "The Ghost" (46:57)

4. "The Class" (46:59)

5. "The Singer" (46:32)

6. "The Mark" (45:58)

Disc 3:

7. "The Juror" (45:54)

8. "The Fortune" (1:33:02)

9. "The Debt" (46:28)

Disc 4:

10. "The Revenge" (46:58)

11. "The Obsession" (47:30)

12. "The Divorce" (46:50)

Disc 5:

13. "The Final Affair" (1:32:00)

14. "The Competition" (46:56)

Nothing has really changed too much about the packaging on this set from the previous releases, with the release once again using the typical Viva case. The cover art this time has a photo of Matlock and Leanne, his new partner for this season (they always seem to change). On the back, there is a brief description of the season along with another cast photo. Inside the case, you'll find the five discs, which have no artwork aside from the series logo on a gray background. Disc 1 contains two episodes, Disc 2 contains four episodes, Disc 3 contains three episodes, Disc 4 contains three episodes, and Disc 5 contains two episodes. You'll also find a listing of all of the episodes, along with original airdates and brief descriptions, inside the case.

The menus on the set are similar to the previous releases, but there is a slight difference. The main menu has a cast snapshot, and gives you options of Play All, a list of the episodes, and a Subtitles option. When you select an episode, however, it doesn't play immediately. Instead, you go to a menu which gives you the option of playing the episode or watching the episode teaser as originally aired on ABC. This menu has a photo snapshot from the episode as well. Other than that, everything else is the same. Chapters are placed throughout each episode.

The video and audio quality of the episodes on this set appear to be a slight step up from the previous releases, which is likely a result of the network change for this season as well as the simple fact that the episodes are newer than the episodes that the previous releases included. It isn't perfect, but it is about how you would expect it to look for a series from the 92-93 season. The episodes are presented in their original full screen format, with English stereo sound. Each episode on the set contains English subtitles.

The episodes on the set look and sound great, without any major problems of concern. The picture is a little soft throughout the set, but it isn't a big deal. The audio is presented in English Surround Sound, with English subtitles available on the episodes.

As a departure from the previous releases, we actually do have one special feature, even though it isn't a huge one... but still one that I've been wanting to see on these releases. For every episode on this set, the original "Next on Matlock" episodic previews are included. These are approximately 35 seconds long per episode. However, they are not attached to the episode as they originally aired. Still, it is great that they included those this time.

I'm not really sure what is left to be said about this series that hasn't been said before. We have another great release of episodes, but still barebones... although the episodic teasers this time were nice. The great thing about this series is how it managed to stay rather consistent throughout the seasons, despite constant cast changes. Many of the episodes on this set were just as great as the previous seasons in my opinion, although some may disagree.

This is basically another standard barebones set (we've become used to that with this series), but I think it is good enough for most fans. This is one of those series that really did stay consistent throughout the entire run, and this season is no better or no worse than any other season, just solid and consistent entertainment. The series found a formula that worked and never had much trouble deviating from that formula, and even with a cast of supporting characters that at times seemed like a revolving door, it maintained consistency. Something has to be said for a series that can pull that off. Perhaps that is why the series, unlike any other legal drama from the same era, continues to air every single day all across the country. Now we just need to wait for the final two seasons to come along. Hopefully we'll get our desired verdict on that soon!

(4/5 stars)

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Friday, February 17, 2012

My Wife & Kids Back In Primetime On Nick at Nite; Sitcom Stars On Talk Shows (Week of February 20, 2012)

Last Wednesday we told you about Nick at Nite making schedule changes and the highlight was Friends' two-hour block being split to 9-10pm and 11pm-12am, well effective yesterday Nick at Nite has changed their schedule again. The most notable change for this schedule is the return of My Wife & Kids to primetime. The Damon Wayans comedy will air in the 8-9pm hour once again, replacing That '70s Show, which will move to the 10pm hour. George Lopez was airing in the 10pm hour and that will move back to the 9pm hour. So yes that means Friends is back to airing in a two-hour block from 11pm-1am every night. I'll be there for you! The 12am hour was That '70s Show encore, but will shift to the 1am hour now, bumping off The Nanny. That comedy will remain at 5am (and in late night on sister network TV Land). In fact, everything from 2am-7am will remain the same it was before this change happened.
One other Nick at Nite note, on President's Day (Monday, Feb. 20) they will air a marathon of Friends immediately following the premiere of the Nickelodeon original series premiere Fred: The Show at 8pm. The Friends marathon will run from 8:30pm-3:30am. Stay with us for any further Nick at Nite updates. We will also have some news in the coming days on TV Land April 2012 with two series returning from hiatus (well, sort of). Stay tuned.

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of February 20-24, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Watch Jesse on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney drops by Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) - Jon visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
Janet Jackson (Good Times/Diff'rent Strokes) - Janet is a guest on Anderson, so check your listings.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer appears on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Catch Alec on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Eric stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
David Alan Grier (Life with Bonnie/DAG/Damon) - David visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer is a guest on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse appears on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am and then guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Regina King (227) - Regina joins the Chew Crew on The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tim Allen (Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Watch Tim on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
John Witherspoon (The Wayans Bros./The Tracy Morgan Show) - John is a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) - Alan visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Tune in to see Patricia on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
Tia (The Game/Sister, Sister) and Tamera Mowry (True Colors/Roommates/Sister, Sister) - Tia and Tamera sit down with Tim Gunn to discuss marriage, babies, hair and the upcoming season of their reality show, Tia & Tamera, on ABC's The Revolution at 2pm ET/1pm PT.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse joins the Chew Crew on The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
David Alan Grier (Life with Bonnie/DAG/Damon) - David stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) - Catch the young and talented Rico on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer continues to make the rounds on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show/Cosby) - Phylicia tells us about her new Tyler Perry film, Good Deeds, on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Watch Jennifer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.

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

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Centric Adds Bernie Mac, Plus Weekend Marathons Info; MeTV Network Adds Affiliates In Toledo and Richmond

Centric will be adding Bernie Mac to its sitcom line-up starting on Monday, Feb. 27. The sitcom airs on sister network BET every weekday morning from 8-10am, but it will now also air on Centric. The cable network will air it weekdays from 2-3pm and again from 7-8pm. Both hours will replace The Jamie Foxx Show, which as of now, will be off the line-up completely. As of now, BET is keeping Bernie Mac on the schedule when Centric adds the series, but if that changes, we'll let you know. And we'll let you know if Jamie Foxx heads to BET or returns to Centric at some point.
Centric will welcome Bernie to the line-up with a weekend marathon on Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26 from 10am-9pm on both days. Elsewhere on Centric, they will have a "The Cosby Show: Bill Cosby For President" marathon on President's Day (Monday, Feb. 20) from 9am-9pm, but that's not all! They will also air the 2002 two-hour retrospective special The Cosby Show: A Look Back from 7-9am (encores 11:30pm-1:30am). Additionally, the Centric premiere of the 2009 half-hour special The Cosby Show 25th Anniversary Special, which originally aired on WGN America and in syndication, airs at 9pm (encores 1:30am). Other stunts include weekend marathons of The Steve Harvey Show (Mar 3-4), In Living Color (Mar 10-11), The Wayans Bros. (Mar 17-18), Girlfriends (Mar 24-25), and 227 (Mar 31-Apr 1).
If you don't know, the weekday Centric schedule starts off with NY Undercover at 6am, followed by '80s classics The A-Team and Miami Vice. After a two-hour break for some music, two-full hours of 227 airs from 11am-1pm, child. Afternoons has Girlfriends in the 1pm hour, followed by Bernie Mac at 2pm. Then the Centric movie airs at 3pm leading into the evening sitcoms starting at 5pm with an hour each of The Wayans Bros., The Steve Harvey Show and more Bernie Mac. In primetime, the '80s classic The Cosby Show leads it off at 8pm, followed by an hour each of Girfriends and The Wayans Bros. In late night, The A-Team will continue to protect 11pm, leading into The Steve Harvey Show and The Cosby Show from 12am-2am. In the overnight, the encore of the afternoon movie will air at 2am leading into an hour of In Living Color at 4am and an airing of drama The Unit at 5am. So it's a nice mix of sitcoms and dramas, but let's hope we get more series soon, too. Perhaps an older series in the vein of 227 and Cosby Show? We'll let you know if that happens, but for now enjoy this schedule with the addition of Bernie Mac and all of the weekend marathons that will start on Feb. 25.

The MeTV Network announced affiliation agreements with Raycom Media-owned WTOL-TV, Toledo and WWBT-TV, Richmond. These two stations join the Network's three other Raycom affiliates: WOIO-TV, Cleveland, KOLD-TV, Tucson and WQWQ-TV, Paducah. The addition of these two stations and other signed affiliation agreements will bring the Network’s clearance to more than 77% of the country. MeTV has more than 115 affiliates. WTOL-TV launched on January 30, 2012 and carries MeTV over the air on channel 11.2, as well as on Comcast cable channel 247, Comcast Clinton cable channel 250, Buckeye CableSystem channel 111 and Time Warner cable channel 992. WWBT-TV launched on February 6, 2012 and carries MeTV over the air on channel 12.2, as well as on Comcast cable channel 208 and FiOS cable channel 460.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Hot in Cleveland Season 3 Not Being Split In Half, Many Guest Stars On Board and On Happily Divorced Too

Regis Philbin, Joan Rivers, Georgia Engel (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Rhea Perlman (Cheers), Roger Bart (Desperate Housewives), Kevin Nealon (Weeds), Craig Bierko and Josh Cribbs (wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns) have been tapped to guest star on the remaining episodes of this season of TV Land's hit sitcom Hot in Cleveland, airing Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT. They join previously announced and returning guest stars including Jon Lovitz, Gilles Marini (Brothers and Sisters), Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs), Rick Springfield, James Patrick Stuart (Supernatural) and Kristen Chenoweth (GCB). Hot in Cleveland is currently in its third season, which runs through June. Previously the show was set to take a break after the Feb. 15 episode (the 12th episode of 24), which is tonight, but now it will run through June with Happily Divorced, when that show returns March 7 for a second season (12 episodes). To match up, on Feb. 22 and Feb. 29, Hot in Cleveland will be preempted and will return March 7 to air 12 weeks in a row, as we guessed last week.
Guest starring in tonight's Hot episode are Steven Weber (Wings) as the man who left Joy (Jane Leeves) at the altar in the 1980s, and Carl Reiner (The Dick Van Dyke Show) returning as Elka's (Betty White) beloved Max. The episode, titled "Lost Loves," follows Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli), Joy (Leeves), Victoria (Wendie Malick) and Elka (White) as they try to track down their former loves in the spirit of Valentine's Day – and Melanie finds a new love that may come as a shock to one of her best friends.

As for Happily Divorced, TV Land announced its line-up of small screen vets that will guest star on season two of the hit original sitcom, which premieres on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 10:30pm ET/PT immediately following all-new episodes of Hot in Cleveland. This season will see Fran and Peter continuing to adjust to their new life being a straight-gay divorced couple, from Peter having to come out to his brother to Fran selling Peter's part of their joint burial plot, much to his dismay. Drescher will also once again re-unite with her former Nanny co-stars, including Renée Taylor, who appeared on Happily Divorced last season, and Ann Guilbert, who played Yetta on The Nanny. Other guest stars will include Morgan Fairchild (General Hospital), Sean Kanan (The Young and the Restless) and D.W. Moffett (Switched at Birth) in his recurring role as Elliott, Fran’s on-again-off-again flame.
According to Nielsen, the first season of Happily Divorced earned an outstanding 1.0 A25-54 rating, up triple-digits (+179%) compared to TV Land primetime average and scored a 1.3 with W25-54, up 214% versus TV Land primetime. The series also attracted an average audience of 2.2 milllion total viewers, up 125% versus primetime levels (Source: Nielsen, 6/15/11-8/17/11, Wed 10:30p-11p, L+7 data).

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Cougar Town Returns Tonight, Our Trip To Paley Center Event Recap; Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Marathon On Hallmark

We were fortunate to attend the Cougar Town Viewing Party event at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on Saturday night with the entire cast (together for the first time at a viewing party event) and showrunners Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. Producer Randall Winston was also on hand. But first, there was a red-carpet event with the entire cast coming one-by-one. We were lucky enough to see and take pictures of Josh Hopkins (Grayson), Dan Byrd (Travis), Bob Clendenin (Tom), Ian Gomez (Andy) and producer Kevin Biegel during the red-carpet festivity. After that, it was off to the concourse theater to get ready to screen two episodes from the upcoming season and to listen to the cast and producers in a panel style discussion. TVLine.com's Michael Ausiello introduced us to the event and creator Bill Lawrence at 7pm sharp. Bill then talked a bit about these viewing parties that have been happening since the end of December and also he gave some info on the episodes we were about to see. The episodes being screened on this night were the season premiere "Ain't Love Strange" and the fifth episode of the season "A One Story Town." The episodes were HILARIOUS and the crowd went wild many many times. One item of note, I already had seen both of these episodes in a press screener but I will tell you this, it was even funnier the second time around!

Some hints on these episodes, the season premiere, which premieres tonight at 8:30/7:30c on ABC, is perfect for Valentine's Day, as it is funny, warm, sweet, heartfelt and silly, which is just about everything Cougar Town sets out to do! And if you think that episode is top notch, wait until you see the fifth episode of the season in mid-March (scheduled for March 13) as Scrubs star Sarah Chalke guest stars as Bobby's new girlfriend and also Scrubs' Sam Lloyd is back. Everything just works in this episode and this comedic ensemble worked perfectly on this episode. And Scrubs fans get a very nice towards the end of the episode. It's a must see! I won't give anything away, but let's just say it's not just Scrubs in Florida with a lot of wine.

After the screening, Ausiello introduced us to the cast and producers one-by-one as they took their seats at the panel (left to right): Kevin Biegel, Bob Clendenin, Ian Gomez, Christa Miller, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Busy Philipps, Josh Hopkins, Courteney Cox, and Bill Lawrence! We learned a lot in this panel and we also laughed a lot. They are all very funny! Some info we learned, the series was going to change its name last season to The Sunshine State, but ABC had a similar-titled show at that time called Mr. Sunshine. Now the series is not changing the title. Why? The name wouldn't change on DVRs and that it would prevent the show from recording for people who have series recordings set. So it's not going to change, it's a great show with a bad title. Among the highlights from the panel include: Courteney Cox talking about directing two episodes this season, her daughter Coco's cameo and David Arquette guest starring; Laurie getting a new boyfriend that she fins on Twitter; Bob Clendenin will be upgraded to a series regular in season four; more baby Stan (who now talks); movie parody episodes of Groundhog Day and Braveheart; Barb (Carolyn Hennesy) is coming back and she is now married to Barry Bostwick's character; and so much more that I don't want to spoil, but it was great night and it's going to be a great season!

After the panel concluded, one lucky fan won a huge Cougar Town poster signed by the entire cast! And some fans stuck around and took pictures with Bill Lawrence inside and everyone got free Cougar Town 2012 Tour t-shirts! And finally, many fans waited outside for the cast to come out and most of them were very generous and stayed outside in the cold to take pictures and sign autographs with the fans! I think the most generous were Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Bill Lawrence, Kevin Biegel, Dan Byrd, and Bob Clendenin. Kudos to them especially! But now the night has finally come, after nine long months, Cougar Town is back with new episodes starting TONIGHT at 8:30/7:30c on ABC! Tune in because it's the perfect episode to air on Valentine's Day and you'll see why by the end of the episode. Make it a date with Cougar Town (and no there are no cougars, both animal or ladies in their 40's on the prowl) on V Day!

Shifting gears, it's Valentine's Day so we have to talk about some love stuff. Well how about I Love Lucy? The Hallmark Channel will play all 13 special episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. The series will be aired in edited thirty-minute installments under the syndication title We Love Lucy. These were intended to run directly after the sixth season of I Love Lucy in syndication. Hallmark Channel hasn't aired these before, so this will be a treat to watch all 13 hours (26 half-hours) in one shot, if you haven't seen it at all or haven't seen it on TV in years.
The marathon begins on Oscar Sunday (Feb. 26) at 6am and will run through 7pm. It will encore again from 7pm on Sunday to 6am the next day (Feb. 27). Moving on to other marathons on Hallmark, on Saturday, March 3 beginning at 11:59pm (12 midnight), Hallmark will start a M*A*S*H marathon that will run through 6pm the next day on Sunday, March 4. It looks like this series airs marathons every few months. On Saturday, March 24, it's a Little House on the Prairie 90-minute episodes stunt starting at 10am through 12 midnight. And finally on Saturday, March 31, spend the day with The Waltons as Hallmark airs a marathon from 10am-6pm followed by the two-hour special A Walton Easter from 6-8pm then A Decade of The Waltons from 8-10pm, as Easter Sunday nears. And we of course mentioned last week that the Mary Tyler Moore Show will have a marathon on Sunday, April 1. More to come on that! But for now enjoy these marathons and as of now, Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour will not be added into the I Love Lucy regular schedule, so make a note of the Feb. 26 marathon if you want to see these 13 episodes!

Monday, February 13, 2012

New Original Sitcom Coming to TBS This Summer; Reimagine That! Interviews Bronson Pinchot from Perfect Strangers About His New Series

TBS has given the greenlight to the new multi-camera comedy series Sullivan and Son, starring popular comedian Steve Byrne and executive-produced by Vince Vaughn (The Break-Up), Peter Billingsley and showrunner Rob Long (Cheers). Byrne also serves as producer on the series, which comes to TBS from Vaughn's Wild West Picture Show Productions, in association with Warner Horizon Television. The pilot was co-written by Byrne and Long, with Ted Wass (Soap, Blossom) directing. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of the series, which is slated to premiere this summer. They ordered it to pilot in October, as we mentioned, so it went well and now will be a series!
Sullivan and Son takes place in a popular and legendary neighborhood bar in a working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Penn. Filled with locals and regulars, Sullivan & Son is the unofficial "town hall" to the neighborhood. As the series opens, Steve Sullivan (Byrne) is a successful corporate attorney from New York who brings his girlfriend, Ashley (guest star Brooke Lyons - 2 Broke Girls) for a visit just as his Irish-American father, Jack Sullivan (Dan Lauria - The Wonder Years), and Korean mother, Ok Cha (Jodi Long), are preparing to sell the bar and retire. Upon arrival, Steve reconnects with his best friend, Owen (Owen Benjamin); gets accosted by his long-suffering, under-appreciated younger sister, Susan (Vivian Bang); endures offensive comments from gruff barfly Hank (Brian Doyle Murray - Saturday Night Live); and gets hit on by tipsy cougar Carol (Christine Ebersole - Royal Pains). He even feels a rekindled romantic spark with his former sweetheart, Melanie (Valerie Azlynn). It doesn't take Steve long to realize that what he really wants out of life is to return to the old neighborhood and take over Sullivan & Son, even if it means giving up a lavish Manhattan lifestyle with the gorgeous Ashley. And so begins Steve's quest for a more meaningful and rewarding life behind the bar.
In addition to Sullivan and Son, TBS recently announced that this summer, the network will premiere the new buddy multi-camera comedy series Men at Work, starring Danny Masterson, James Lesure, Michael Cassidy and Adam Busch, which was ordered to pilot in August, as we mentioned. 10 episodes will air. Also this year, TBS will launch The Wedding Band, a new one-hour scripted comedy series starring Brian Austin Green, Harold Perrineau, Peter Cambor and Derek Miller, Melora Hardin, Jenny Wade and Kathryn Fiore. We mentioned of the pick-up back in May. And 10 episodes of this one-hour comedy have been ordered as well. Stay with us for premiere dates for all three original TBS series!

Our good pal Chris Mann as posted his latest episode of his podcast series Reimagine That! With Chris Mann and he has interviewed one of the funniest and nicest sitcom actors ever--Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers). Nothing's going to stop Chris Mann now! If that's not enough, Bronson reimagines unscripted entertainment by giving his very first "inter'nude!" And no Chris is not being ridiculous! You'll have to take a listen to this for sure! TV's Balki Bartokomous -- who came back this weekend in the premiere of his new DIY home-restoration series, The Bronson Pinchot Project -- goes "au naturel" in this hysterical interview that exposes his thoughts on everything from reality TV, his love of Wizard of Oz, overcoming childhood adversity and sharing his "deeply personal and very secret" connection with Balki and Perfect Strangers fans. In addition, he shares his creative passion for renovating vintage houses and buildings, and discusses his memorable experience getting a disturbing "house dream" analyzed on Bio's Celebrity Nightmares Decoded. Since Bronson is in the middle of filming his new DIY series, the interview was cut a bit short but it is hysterical, fun and a great listen! The Bronson Pinchot Project airs every Saturday at 10:30pm on DIY!
Also earlier in the podcast, Chris gives his assessment of Suzanne Somers' recent reconciliation with Joyce DeWitt -- for more info, see his new Retroality.TV blog post (a MUST read, folks!)-- and previews his upcoming two-part interview with Little House on the Prairie star turned bestselling author and childhood abuse survivor Alison Angrim.
Finally, Reimagine That!'s resident dream weaver, Yvonne Ryba, interprets some of her fascinating "house dreams" while trying to make sense of Chris's bizarre, circa-early-Eighties dream involving TV's Janet Wood and Chrissy Snow, his front porch and a stampeding bull(!). This podcast has it all, doesn't it? So hope nothing is going to stop you now in listening to this podcast! Go and listen to episode six!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Week 21 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

2011-12 Week 21 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A

Week 21 (Feb. 6-12) Analysis: Week 21 has the first full week of February sweep and NBC had a good showing the day after the Super Bowl, but then got back to its low ratings the rest of the week. The first four night network averages are not available but we can project CBS is in the lead in HH/viewers, with Fox first in 18-49. Both networks are first or second. It's very close for third right now with ABC and NBC, it looks to me ABC is on top in HH/viewers with NBC with the slight edge in 18-49. I think ABC will surpass NBC when the week ends. More on the prediction of week 21 below. As for last week, week 20, NBC obviously won the crown in all categories thanks to the Super Bowl, which rescued them out of fourth place. The big game did 111.35 million overall and a 40.5 18-49 rating...holy mother of God. CBS was second in HH/viewers, while Fox was second in 18-49. For third in 18-49 it was CBS and for third in HH/viewers it was Fox. ABC was fourth across the board in all categories.

On Monday, it was a rare victory for NBC. First, on ABC, The Bachelor started it off from 8-10pm with 8.35 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week despite the added competition from NBC. As I mentioned last Sunday, "I don't think it will be down much, if at all" - and I was right. At 10pm, Castle was all-new and did 8.7 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, tying its season low. It will go back up tomorrow with the special two-part event starting and the NBC Super Bowl halo-effect going down. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother was new doing 9.98 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, which great and was not hurt by NBC it seems. Then a new episode of breakout hit 2 Broke Girls followed doing a better 11.47 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating, with nice builds from the lead-in like usual and it also was not hurt by the competition on NBC. At 9pm, a new showing of Two and a Half Men did 13.0 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating, which is great but below normal and looks like it was affected a bit by NBC. A new Mike & Molly followed and did 10.95 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which is solid but below normal. A new episode of Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 9.97 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, solid but a bit below average. Fox started with a new House at 8pm with 7.09 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, down from previous week as this will be its last season. New drama Alcatraz was next at 9pm and did 6.91 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, down from previous week and probably the most hurt by NBC. On to first place (for now?) NBC started it off with the timeslot premiere of The Voice and did 17.84 million and a 6.7 18-49 rating, which is by far the best NBC has done in years. I expect a drop tomorrow of about a point, but that should be still enough for a first place finish from 8-10pm. Then at 10pm the pilot episode of critical darling Smash was next at 10 and was sampled to 11.44 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, which is good but will it stay here? I don't think it will, as past NBC series on Mondays have started well and then just dropped (The Event, Studio 60, etc). Maybe not by tomorrow, but in a few weeks I think it will be in third place. It costs a lot of money to make, so it should be first place every week if it wants to survive. The CW was all-new, at 8pm the why-is-it-still-on Gossip Girl did 1.25 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth from previous week. At 9pm a new Hart of Dixie did 1.52 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week despite the added competition. Overall, only a few hiccups on the night but for the most part it was a night to remember on broadcast.

On Tuesday, CBS went by Fox by a hair for the win as NBC went back down to its usual 4th place. At CBS, they had the special 200th episode of NCIS do 20.98 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, which is excellent, but mostly in total viewers. 18-49 rating should be higher given that many total viewers. In other words, it skews old. Then a new NCIS: Los Angeles at 9pm did 16.27 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which is solid but below normal. At 10pm, a new Unforgettable did 11.86 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is below normal and second place. ABC started with a new Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing 7.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which was below normal. At 8:30pm another new episode followed, doing a better 8.02 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, as Kim Kardashian guest starred. Cougar Town returns this Tuesday on its new night and time of Tuesdays at 8:30pm! Tune in! It's a funny show! From 9-11pm, ABC premiered the new horror/adventure series The River and did 7.59 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which was a disappointing start, unfortunately. I never wanted a two-hour premiere, since the second episode was way better (and scarier), so I felt that should be aired in week two instead of the later 10pm hour. There has been positive feedback from viewers who watched, so perhaps it can stay in this rating range and ABC will take it. Body of Proof was was preempted and will return this week. Fox started with a new Glee and did 7.81 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which was down from previous week's Michael Jack-themed episode. Then at 9pm, new comedy New Girl was new and did a solid 6.83 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week but skewing even younger this week. Then Raising Hope was new and low like usual with just 4.47 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, but up a tenth week-to-week. It will be moving to 8pm for 7 weeks after February sweeps is over, which will probably break the series. NBC was next in fourth with The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 6.41 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is up some from previous week though. Parenthood was new and did just 4.63 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, for a series low. The CW started it off with a new 90210 and did 1.34 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, not good but on par with previous week again. Then at 9pm, Ringer was new and did 1.18 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, not good, and down a tenth week-to-week. A disappointment for The CW. Gellar needs to go to ABC or Fox for a show.

Wednesday it was Fox with the win again with Idol leading the way of course. First, CBS started the night off with the news revival of Person to Person doing only 5.9 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which is not good and making 60 Minutes II look good. Then at 9pm, a new Criminal Minds did 13.31 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, solid but seems below normal. And at 10pm a new CSI did 10.88 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, as looks like the loss of Marg Helgenberger huts. ABC was all-new for its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 8.44 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, on par with its last new episode. Suburgatory followed at 8:30pm with 7.27 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is a quiet hit and doing it against Idol now. The mega hit Modern Family was next at 9pm and it did 12.9 million and 5.5 18-49 rating for a new showing, which is great and Idol viewers fled here when it was over. At 9:30pm, Happy Endings was new and did 6.7 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, solid. It is always consistent. Next season I can see it airing in another timeslot, perhaps with Cougar Town. At 10pm a new episode of addicting Revenge did 7.7 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which is solid but this week will be big with the big reveal. Fox aired American Idol in the 8pm hour doing 19.32 million and a 6.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. So The Voice beat it this week, but that show was two-hours and helped by the Super Bowl the previous night. It's game on now this week when both series are two-hours. Fox then aired another Mobbed special and did 8.47 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating out of the big lead-in and was up some from previous week, but still looks like viewers fled to Modern Family. NBC opened the night with a new episode of the terrible series Whitney doing 4.06 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. In honor of the late Whitney Houston, please drop this NBC! Week five of Are You There, Chelsea followed with only 3.63 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, also down some from previous week. At 9pm, NBC premiered the timeslot debut of Rock Center with Brian Williams doing 5.1 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which is not good and Harry's Law style. And at 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was new and did 6.55 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, not good but seems a bit above its performances this season. The CW had a new One Tree Hill at 8pm doing 1.35 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week again. Then at 9pm a new Remodeled did only 620,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. What works on The CW these days?

Thursday it was Fox over CBS once again. Starting with ABC, they opened the night with a new episode of Winter Wipeout doing 5.22 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. Should be better and might do better this week. At 9pm, a new Grey's Anatomy aired doing 10.27 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, up from previous week and this show is still a top drama on TV in its eighth season. It will be on for a while! At 10pm, Private Practice was next and did 6.52 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth. It will have a cross-over episode this week with Grey's, so look for both hours to be solid and first place. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory at 16.21 million and a 5.6 18-49 rating, great and up a tenth from previous week even with Idol airing opposite it again. In fact, it beat that show in its first half-hour for the fourth straight week and did a Thursday at 8pm high in 18-49! Then week five of Rob was next doing 10.74 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Season finale will be March 1. A new episode of Person of Interest did 15.14 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which is solid and tying a series best from previous week. A new episode of The Mentalist followed and did 14.68 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Fox aired American Idol at 8pm doing 18.13 million and a 5.8 18-49 rating, great and up some from previous week. It's just not a juggernaut anymore but number one for the night still. Then a new episode of The Finder at 9pm did 6.22 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down some from previous week again. NBC was all-new with a new 30 Rock up first doing just 3.88 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating for an hour long episode, so it was up some from previous week, as Parks and Recreation was preempted. The Office was next and did just 5.19 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, for a Thursday low. I predicted this series will be in low-mid 2's in 2012, and it is already here. At 9:30pm Up All Night was new and did just 3.65 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, as was down a tenth week-to-week. At 10pm, a repeat of the post-Super Bowl airing of The Voice did 3.54 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, third place but nearly doubling the previous week's new airing of The Firm...ouch. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries was new and did 3.08 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, still below normal but up a tenth from previous week. Then at 9pm, drama The Secret Circle did just 1.82 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, but up a tenth week-to-week

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC and CBS had something to talk about. ABC was solid with Shark Tank doing a Friday high with a prelim 1.8 18-49 rating. At 9pm What Would You Do? was up some, but not out. CBS' Blue Bloods won 10pm with a prelim 1.8 18-49 rating. NBC's Who Do You Think You Are was low while Grimm was up some. Fox had Fringe do terrible at 9pm and it doesn't look like another season is coming.
Saturday numbers have NBC winning the night with repeats, As The Voice repeat did well. Cops was preempted as Fox aired a two-hour AMW special. ABC was dead last, as the 9-11pm repeat airings of Cougar Town did nothing.

Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives and Pan Am is back. Look for Lost's Emilie deRavin on Once! NBC has two-hours each of Dateline and Fear Factor. Looks like fourth place. CBS has new airing of 60 Minutes then the Grammy Awards which will be big and easily win the night, as Good Wife and CSI: Miami are preempted. Fox has new episodes of Animation Domination starting at 7:30pm but they will be below normal.

As for the week (week 21), it will be CBS with win in HH/viewers for sure and even 18-49 I think with since the Grammy's are tonight. Fox will be second in HH/viewers and perhaps 18-49 as well. ABC will be third everywhere, with NBC settling for fourth place. As for the coming week (week 22), ABC has the season premiere of Cougar Town on Tuesday and I hope it does well because it is a great premiere and a great show. Watch it! Look for downward ratings for Smash on NBC and The Voice could be down but still first place on Monday.

Week 21 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 20 -- Jan. 30-Feb. 5)

The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 1.94 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating against the Super Bowl which is not good but what more can you expect?
Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) - A repeat at a special time of 7:30pm did 1.52 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, as this show hasn't even aired many new episodes yet.
The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A repeat at 8:30pm did just 1.8 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, but held nearly all of the lead-in's ratings.
Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did only 910,000 viewers and as 0.3 18-49 rating, yes against the Super Bowl but when has the big four ever gone under a million? Ouch.
Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 2.41 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, below normal but not bad against the Super Bowl.
American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 2.22 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, nearly retaining its lead-in's ratings.
The Middle (ABC) - A special one-hour repeat at 9pm did just 1.77 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating.
Modern Family (ABC) 2 airings - Two repeats aired in the 10pm hour doing 2.87 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating at 10pm and 3.0 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating at 10:30pm. Most impressive showing of the night against the Super Bowl.

Monday Sitcoms

How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 9.98 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, which is solid and it doesn't seem affected by NBC's added competition.
2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A new episode did 11.47 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating, which is great but still don't get the appeal of this show.
Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.0 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating for this show is below normal and it couldn't build from its lead-in. It retained, but didn't build. Solid, but could have been better.
Mike & Molly (CBS) - A new airing did 10.95 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, solid but below average.

Tuesday Sitcoms

Last Man Standing (ABC) 2 airings - A new airing in its 8pm half-hour did 7.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is solid but below normal. A special second new episode at 8:30pm did better with 8.02 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating with special guest Kim Kardashian. Look for it to be higher this week with just one airing.
Cougar Town (ABC) - Returns THIS TUESDAY at 8:30/7:30c! Tune in and spread the word. It's a GREAT premiere. Something for everyone!
New Girl (Fox) - A new episode did 6.83 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week despite its lead-in going down. This is a solid hit.
Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode did just 4.47 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. Not good but up a tenth from previous week.

Wednesday Sitcoms

The Middle (ABC) - A repeat did 4.9 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which is below normal for a repeat.
Suburgatory (ABC) - A repeat did 4.23 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, down some from previous week.
Whitney (NBC) - A new episode did just 4.33 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is at least better than its series low the previous week.
Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) - Week four did only 4.04 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up for the first time...but still not good.
Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat did 7.64 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, up from previous week and very solid for a repeat.
Happy Endings (ABC) - A repeat did 5.14 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, up some from previous week and not bad at all for a repeat.

Thursday Sitcoms

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 16.21 million and a 5.6 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week and it beat Idol head-to-head again. It was a Thursday high in 18-49.
Rob (CBS) - Week five did 10.74 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which is solid against Idol and on par with previous week. I think Rules of Engagement will return after the NCAA Tournament is over, as this show has its finale on March 1.
30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode from 8-9pm did just 3.88 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, up from previous week's series low in the 8pm half-hour.
Parks and Recreation (NBC) - preempted.
The Office (NBC) - A new episode did just 5.19 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, a Thursday low. More downward ratings to come? What will NBC do in comedy next season? No real hits at all.
Up All Night (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.65 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth from previous week and still isn't good and still Whitney style in this time period.

Friday Sitcoms

None.

Saturday Sitcoms

Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A Saturday repeat did a prelim 3.08 million and a prelim 0.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week's comedy encore.
Mike & Molly (CBS) - A Saturday repeat did a prelim 3.47 million and a prelim 0.8 18-49 rating, up some with previous week's comedy encore.
Cougar Town (ABC) 3 airings - A special marathon from 9-11pm aired, with the first episode doing a prelim 1.47 million and a prelim 0.5 18-49 rating only. A second airing at 9:30pm did just a prelim 1.23 million and a prelim 0.4 18-49 rating. Not good. The one-hour second season finale repeat did better with a prelim 1.56 million and a prelim 0.5 18-49 rating.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm with new episodes starting at 7:30pm.

Summing it up. New episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, Rob, Mike & Molly, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office, Last Man Standing) or just plain old terrible (such as Up All Night, Raising Hope).

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Digital Digest: New Amazon Prime Content; Busy May for Shout! Factory; Beavis and Butt-head - Volume Four DVD/Blu-ray Disc Review

Welcome to Digital Digest! This week has been a very busy week for news on the home media front, including several DVD announcements and even more content available from the ever-expanding Amazon Prime service. And of course, like most weeks, we have a DVD (and Blu-ray this time) review, with Beavis and Butt-head - Volume Four (DVD/Blu-ray). Let's get going!

DIGITAL NEWS

Amazon Prime, the subscription service from Amazon.com which allows you to get free two-day shipping on many items and streaming video for many series, has announced yet another deal to their ever-expanding empire this week. This time, the deal is with Viacom. Admittedly, many of the series included are current Nickelodeon cartoons and certain awful MTV series that we only ever mention here mostly as a joke (GTL, anybody?), but the latest deal does include the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland (no other TV Land series are included, though, yet). Still, the more deals that they sign means more content, which means that they'll likely only expand even further. We will of course, keep you updated as they continue to expand. In the meantime, you can read more about the current new additions here.

Speaking of Amazon Prime, though, there are other additions that have been placed on there in recent months which we have failed to mention, simply because either there was no news announcement or we just overlooked it. Specifically, there are many cartoons from Cookie Jar Entertainment now included on the service, including the complete series of Heathcliff and Inspector Gadget. You can also find series from Classic Media including Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and Rocky and Bullwinkle. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, we suggest you head on over there now to see the current offerings, as they often change, and as hard as we attempt to report them, it is difficult to track down all of them.

News on the DVD front this week appeared to be light earlier in the week, but Shout! Factory had a glut of news on Friday, with the biggest being their announcement for Route 66 - The Complete Series. The set will be released on May 22, but if you buy it directly from Shout! Factory, you can get it a month earlier, on April 22. Special features for the 24 disc set have not yet been finalized, but the Shout! Factory website indicates that it will include Paley Festival panel footage, rare commercials, and a Great Cars: Corvette bonus DVD. The first three seasons were previously released by Infinity Entertainment, with some vintage commercials as special features, but some of the episodes were syndicated versions. It remains to be seen if Shout! Factory will include only unedited episodes, but given that they are likely aware of the situation, it probably will not be an issue. You can order the set directly from Shout! Factory by clicking here, or you can order from Amazon.com (which will ship the DVD set a month later, but at a slightly lower price) by clicking here.

In the wake of this news, TVShowsOnDVD.com uncovered even more Shout! Factory releases, with something for all of the first four Tuesdays in May. These begin with Kojak - Season Four (May 1), and continue with Fantasy Island - The Complete Second Season (May 8), Hazel - The Complete Third Season (May 15), and S.W.A.T. - The Final Season (May 22). Both Fantasy Island and S.W.A.T. are new releases for Shout! Factory, and the other two releases are follow-ups of previous Shout! Factory releases.

It appears that Lionsgate's releases of series from ABC Studios is going to continue in the next few months, with a few re-releases of sets that were already released by Disney. Of note for sitcom fans, they will be re-releasing both seasons of Samantha Who?, which was previously released by ABC Studios, but is now out of print. Both Samantha Who? - The Complete First Season and Samantha Who? - The Complete Second and Final Season will become available on May 1. You can read more about this and the other series that are on the way here.

Finally, CBS Home Entertainment is moving ahead with the classic Robert Urich series Vega$, with Vega$ - The Third Season, Volume 1. The three disc set will contain the first eleven episodes of the final season of the classic series.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (February 14) has more Urkel coming to DVD, with Warner Home Video's release of Family Matters - The Complete Second Season. Timeless Media Group brings an interesting (and rare) release with the early 90s sci-fi comedy series They Came From Outer Space - The Complete Television Series. We hope to have reviews of both of these sets very soon. In the animated realm, we have Beavis and Butt-head - Volume Four (DVD/Blu-ray), which we have a review of today in Digital Digest. Additionally, Shout! Factory continues Rocko's Modern Life, with Rocko's Modern Life - Season Two.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

Blog DVD/Blu-ray Disc Review: Beavis and Butt-head - Volume Four (MTV Home Entertainment, $22.99 DVD/$26.99 Blu-ray)

by skees53

America's favorite teenage morons are back! Beavis and Butt-head was Mike Judge's popular MTV cartoon series from the '90s that created much controversy (perhaps the most controversial series that had ever aired on basic cable at that point in time, but has certainly been surpassed since then). After just a few brief years on the air, the series ended and Judge went on to his next series, King of the Hill. But now that that series has come to an end, Judge has gone back to his roots with all new episodes of America's favorite culture critics, and the first batch of these new episodes from 2011 are now making their debut on DVD, and Blu-ray Disc as well. The set also marks the first time that a complete season of the series has ever been released in an unedited form.

The set begins with "Werewolves of Highland," where the boys jump right into the current decade by becoming engulfed in Twilight mania. The boys have a misunderstanding about wedding engagement in "Daughter's Hand." In "Tech Support," the boys get a job (accidentally) that even they are capable of handling. Beavis transforms back into his classic alter-ego from the original series in "Holy Cornholio." In "Drones," the boys cause chaos in the middle east during what seems to be an innocent field trip. The boys decide to make their own documentary about obesity in "Supersize Me." Butt-head realizes that it pays to use the toilet at work in "Bathroom Break."

The entire town of Highland is evacuated due to a train derailment in "Doomsday," but one pair of citizens doesn't get the alert to leave. Beavis and Butt-head turn to religion when they learn it could get them out of learning evolution in "Dumb Design." Beavis has a little accident while trying to photocopy his rear-end in "Copy Machine." Beavis and Butt-head become bounty hunters (with poor results) in "Bounty Hunters." In "Massage," the duo decides that they want their own massage parlor. The boys learn that an abortion clinic isn't quite what they think it is in "Whorehouse." The season ends with "Going Down," where Beavis and Butt-head get trapped in an elevator.

The episode included, with runtimes, are as follows:

1. "Werewolves of Highland/Crying" (21:01)

2. "Daughter's Hand/Tech Support" (20:51)

3. "Holy Cornholio" (21:25)

4. "Drones" (21:02)

5. "Supersize Me/Bathroom Break" (20:43)

6. "The Rat/Spill" (20:39)

7. "Doomsday/Dumb Design" (21:04)

8. "Copy Machine/Holding" (20:53)

9. "Used Car/Bounty Hunters" (21:19)

10. "Time Machine/Massage" (20:32)

11. "School Test/Snitchers" (21:23)

12. "Whorehouse/Going Down" (21:03)

Both the DVD and Blu-ray come in very similar (and basic) packaging, using standard cases for their respective formats. On the cover, there is a picture of Beavis and Butt-head with a red background, and nothing more. The back of the case has a photo of both of them on the sofa and a VERY brief description of the set. Inside the case, you'll find the discs, which have a black outline photo of Beavis and Butt-head. The Blu-ray disc only has one disc, but the DVD has two discs, with episodes 1-6 on Disc 1, and episodes 7-12 on Disc 2. The Blu-ray disc also has an insert with the disclaimer that the episodes are presented in their original 4x3 aspect ratio, which we'll discuss a bit more in a minute.

Despite one set being a DVD and the other being a Blu-ray, the menus on each respective set aren't that much different. The main menu has a split screen, with still photos on one side of the screen, and video on the other side of the screen. The theme song plays in the background. The options on the main menu include Play All, Episodes, Special Features (Blu-ray and Disc 2 of the DVD), and Set Up (Blu-ray only). Selecting Episodes will take you to a submenu on the DVD set where you can view four episodes per screen, with two still photo per full episode (one corresponding to each half of the episode). The Blu-ray set isn't much different, except it places these as a pop-up menu over the main menu. Special Features are presented the same way that the episodes are presented on both the DVD and Blu-ray. Set Up, which is only on the Blu-ray set, allows you to turn on English subtitles. Chapters are placed throughout all of the episodes on both sets.

The video and audio quality on both releases is excellent, and in fact, this is where I want to make a rare and unusual rant about making a series available on both DVD and Blu-ray. The animation on this series is not really what I would consider to be high-definition. In fact, the episodes on both sets are presented in full-screen, as they aired on MTV. In looking at this set, I'm not sure where the need existed for a Blu-ray release of the set. The DVD is perfectly adequate, and the Blu-ray just seems to be completely unnecessary. Blu-ray releases, if the format is to thrive, should be reserved for series where it'll actually make a difference. This release does not give Blu-ray that opportunity. In any event, everything seems to be fine about the video and audio quality, and as mentioned, the episodes are presented in full-screen. The DVD set includes closed-captioning for the episodes, while the Blu-ray includes English subtitles.

There are a few meager special features on the set, though they honestly weren't that great, with the exception of the first one. That one is "2011 San Diego Comic-Con Panel" (19:15), which, if you've seen these on the many releases of other series (primarily Fox series), you'll know that these are excellent to watch. They give a nice behind-the-scenes insight with those involved with the series. Beavis & Butt-Head interruptions was just plain painful to watch. These are just promotional pieces featuring the boys talking on the phone to cast members of (I hate saying the name of this show) Jersey Shore. The runtimes for these are 1:05, 0:55, 0:51, and 1:59. My advice? Don't even watch them. Finally, there is a "Silence Your Cell Phone" clip (0:17), reminding people to turn off their cell phones at the movies. I'm guessing that this must run before some movies in some theaters, but personally I've never seen it.

For fans of the series, old and new, this set is definitely worth owning. I'm certainly glad that the series is back on the air, and in my opinion, it is actually still a decent show to watch, although it is unfortunate that they do less music critiquing now. It is also great to see that this series is available as a complete and unedited season for the first time ever. It is too bad, though, that we will likely never see this treatment for the earlier episodes of the series, and are stuck with only having 2/3 of the cartoons and nearly none of the music videos. I feel that the DVD set of this release is perhaps better than the Blu-ray, because this series doesn't have anything to offer with Blu-ray. But then again, the Blu-ray isn't that much more expensive for this set. In any event, the Great Cornholio commands you to pick this DVD (or Blu-ray, if you insist) up today!

(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page

Beavis and Butt-head on TV.com

CLICK OF THE WEEK

I Love TV Intros (www.ilovetvintros.com) - Love is in the air with Valentine's Day coming up in just a few days, and we really planned to bring you a great Honeymooners website as the Click of the Week... but that was thwarted because it turns out that the original pick has malware all over the website (likely unbeknownst to the webmaster). But since we don't have that pick, we've got a great follow-up to the WaveThemes.org, the site that we brought you last week. Suppose, for a moment, that you want more than just a WAV file of a theme song from a series, and instead, want full video openings instead. Well, you COULD do a frantic YouTube search, or you could check out I Love TV Intros.

I Love TV Intros is a very simple website with one mission: to bring you video clips of various TV series from all eras, with a no-frills design. You can go through the website using the alphabetic listing or view series listed by era, and get a list of many different TV series, with video clips of the opening credits playing as soon as you click on the series title. It really is as simple as that. It isn't a bloated website with advertisements everywhere, or a website that will cause your computer to constantly crash (at least it didn't for me). While there are many different series represented here, it is, of course, far from inclusive of a lot of series. And one big drawback is the lack of multiple versions of theme songs for many series. But still, you will find just about every popular TV series here, many less popular series, and some you've never even heard of, and it is all represented in a nice and organized fashion.

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