Saturday, March 23, 2013
Digital Digest: New George Lopez Show DVDs; Mill Creek Wrapping Up Carsey Werner Series; I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later DVD Review
Welcome to the very first Digital Digest of this (so far) winter-like spring! This week, we've got news of even more series being completed on DVD, some "abandoned" series being revived, and a review of I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later. Let's get rolling!
DIGITAL NEWS
It doesn't seem to happen too often, but every now and then, we hear of a series that was once abandoned on DVD suddenly being continued. This week, there is news of a continuation of a series that was last released six years ago. On July 16, Warner Home Video will finally release The George Lopez Show - The Complete Third Season. The four disc set will come at a $29.98 MSRP.
Meanwhile, Mill Creek is picking up an abandoned series as well, although they're restarting the series by releasing the first season... and as often happens with Mill Creek, they'll be doing it in style with uncut episodes. On May 14, the studio will be releasing Highway to Heaven - The Complete First Season. A&E Home Video previously released the first few seasons in edited fashion, before abandoning it at least. But now, the plans are to get the entire series released, and also in unedited form, which is sure to please fans.
Now onto some series coming to completion... and before we go on, we should just say that May 14 will be a busy day for Mill Creek! First up, they'll be releasing the final season of Roseanne with Roseanne - The Complete Ninth Season. But for fans who would rather have it all in one box set, the other option is Roseanne - The Complete Series, also scheduled to be released on the same day. They just wrapped up the series That '70s Show last week, but now they'll be making that one even bigger with their release of That '70s Show - The Complete Series, which again, is being released on May 14. But that still isn't all! On the same day, yet another complete series comes with 3rd Rock from the Sun - The Complete Series. All of these complete series sets come at a low MSRP (the first two are around $70, and the last one at about $45), and furthermore, they complete every series that Mill Creek acquired from the Carsey-Werner library... now if only they could pick up some more series from that library and get those started!
Our last story on "finishing up" series is actually not quite a finish, but it is very close. On June 11, CBS will release Perry Mason - The Final Season: Season 9, Volume 1. It has been a long journey for these releases (this will mark the 19th release of this series!), but it appears that we'll finally be approaching the end of the series.
Finally, Comcast Xfinity subscribers have something big coming next week with the first ever Watchathon Week. Next week only, subscribers can enjoy 3,542 episodes of some of the latest series airing on broadcast, cable, and premium cable... for free! A small list of the series included is as follows: Girls, The Mindy Project, Go On, Veep, House of Lies, Legit, Tosh.0, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty and Psych. The full list, which is MUCH longer, can be seen here.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 26) is a bit light on releases, but it does bring us MADtv - The Complete Second Season (review) and Men at Work - The Complete First Season. We hope to have a review of Men at Work soon.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later (Sony Choice Collection, $20.95)
by skees53
I Dream of Jeannie had a nice five year run in the '60s on NBC, and even after it was canceled, it was one of those shows that fans still enjoyed and wanted to see more of. So, in 1985, NBC decided to bring back that magic of Jeannie one more time in a special reunion movie, set to air and take place in a time where NBC was airing series such as The A-Team, Night Court, Gimme a Break, The Cosby Show, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, and 227 (with the last two, in fact, debuting only about a month before the movie aired). So it wasn't that NBC was desperate to do something to get ratings. They already had the top-rated series on TV, and airing this movie was just a little something extra.
Unfortunately, before the movie could even begin, there was already a problem. Barbara Eden, of course, was ready and willing to play the role of Jeannie (not initially, but was eventually coaxed into doing it, and says that she has no regrets), but Larry Hagman was a little busy with something else in the '80s: he was playing J.R. Ewing on one of the biggest series of the decade (and in the scope of his career, bigger than I Dream of Jeannie), Dallas. So producers were forced to come up with another actor to play the role of Major Nelson. The only logical choice was to pick Wayne Rogers, an actor who looked nothing like the real Tony Nelson (OK, so maybe that was a bit sarcastic), and was best known at the time for playing in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H. Meanwhile, it only made sense that Jeannie would be a mother by now... so enter Mackenzie Astin as son T.J. Nelson. The movie wasn't completely without some of the original supporting cast, though. Bill Daily did return to play his role of Roger Healy, and there is even a brief appearance of Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows.
The plot of the film focuses on Major Nelson, who is about to finally retire from NASA... the day that Jeannie has been waiting her entire life for. Over the years, Jeannie has morphed into a stereotypical sweater-wearing housewife and wants nothing more than to spend time with her family. But a "last blast" into space before retirement upsets Jeannie quite a bit... so much that she decides to get a separation from Tony, and moves into her own apartment. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse when her evil sister, Jeannie II, decides that this is the perfect scheme to steal Tony for herself, so she teams with Haji (who is now a black guy who owns a fitness center in the US) to break Jeannie and Tony up for good, and when an emergency strikes in space, a little bit of blackmail could mean the end of Jeannie and Tony's relationship forever. The story was written, directed, and produced by some of the "big names" of 60s-80s TV, with director William Asher (Bewitched), producer Barbara Corday (Cagney and Lacey, also president of Columbia Pictures at the time), and teleplay writer Irma Kalish (everything). The runtime of the movie is 1:34:15.
The packaging for this DVD is in line with other Sony Choice Collection titles. On the cover, there is a photo of Jeannie in an elaborate costume (something she didn't really wear too much in the movie), and on the back, there is a snapshot from the movie of Jeannie kissing Major Nelson. There is also a brief description of the movie on the back. Inside, you'll find the one disc, which like all other Choice Collection titles, only has the title of the movie printed on a white background.
There are no menus on the DVD. Instead, it just plays immediately upon inserting the disc.
Considering that this movie has largely been in obscurity since it originally aired, the video and audio quality is surprisingly good. I didn't notice any major flaws in the quality at all, even though it certainly does look a bit dated.
Unfortunately, before the movie could even begin, there was already a problem. Barbara Eden, of course, was ready and willing to play the role of Jeannie (not initially, but was eventually coaxed into doing it, and says that she has no regrets), but Larry Hagman was a little busy with something else in the '80s: he was playing J.R. Ewing on one of the biggest series of the decade (and in the scope of his career, bigger than I Dream of Jeannie), Dallas. So producers were forced to come up with another actor to play the role of Major Nelson. The only logical choice was to pick Wayne Rogers, an actor who looked nothing like the real Tony Nelson (OK, so maybe that was a bit sarcastic), and was best known at the time for playing in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H. Meanwhile, it only made sense that Jeannie would be a mother by now... so enter Mackenzie Astin as son T.J. Nelson. The movie wasn't completely without some of the original supporting cast, though. Bill Daily did return to play his role of Roger Healy, and there is even a brief appearance of Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows.
The plot of the film focuses on Major Nelson, who is about to finally retire from NASA... the day that Jeannie has been waiting her entire life for. Over the years, Jeannie has morphed into a stereotypical sweater-wearing housewife and wants nothing more than to spend time with her family. But a "last blast" into space before retirement upsets Jeannie quite a bit... so much that she decides to get a separation from Tony, and moves into her own apartment. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse when her evil sister, Jeannie II, decides that this is the perfect scheme to steal Tony for herself, so she teams with Haji (who is now a black guy who owns a fitness center in the US) to break Jeannie and Tony up for good, and when an emergency strikes in space, a little bit of blackmail could mean the end of Jeannie and Tony's relationship forever. The story was written, directed, and produced by some of the "big names" of 60s-80s TV, with director William Asher (Bewitched), producer Barbara Corday (Cagney and Lacey, also president of Columbia Pictures at the time), and teleplay writer Irma Kalish (everything). The runtime of the movie is 1:34:15.
The packaging for this DVD is in line with other Sony Choice Collection titles. On the cover, there is a photo of Jeannie in an elaborate costume (something she didn't really wear too much in the movie), and on the back, there is a snapshot from the movie of Jeannie kissing Major Nelson. There is also a brief description of the movie on the back. Inside, you'll find the one disc, which like all other Choice Collection titles, only has the title of the movie printed on a white background.
There are no menus on the DVD. Instead, it just plays immediately upon inserting the disc.
Considering that this movie has largely been in obscurity since it originally aired, the video and audio quality is surprisingly good. I didn't notice any major flaws in the quality at all, even though it certainly does look a bit dated.
I've been hearing nothing but complaints about how bad this movie is in some of the reviews I've read from other people, but it really isn't that bad. Mediocre, certainly, but it is watchable (stay tuned next week as we review a reunion movie that was less than mediocre!), and does have a small amount of charm that the original series had. I really think that if Larry Hagman had returned, this movie would have had a bit more potential. Wayne Rogers is a great actor, sure, but he isn't Tony Nelson. Will Ferrell, for example, is a great actor too, but we saw how awful he was in the Bewitched movie a few years ago (which wasn't a reunion, but the point is still the same). Also, I think the movie really overdid the costumes for Jeannie II. I get it, it was the '80s, but they put her in every possible costume that anybody could be wearing in the '80s every time she appeared on screen, and it really just got weird. Still, I'm glad that Sony released this, and I hope to see the other reunion movie, I Still Dream of Jeannie, eventually show up on DVD.
(4/5 stars)
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I Dream of Jeannie on TV.com(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Rashida Jones (Twitter), "I'm terrified of Twitter. Please be gentle."
Claim to Fame: The daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton grew up in an "all star" family and while growing up, she attended school with the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Unlike them, however, Jones went on to Harvard, where she graduated in 1997. However, after graduation, she started to make a name for herself in Hollywood. Her earliest TV roles were on Freaks and Geeks and Boston Public, and eventually she landed a recurring role on The Office. Currently, she plays the role of Ann Perkins in the NBC series Parks and Recreation.
Why You Should Follow Her: Jones is a very dynamic actress, and has always managed to woo fans in all of the roles she has played. But what we like about her even more is that she comes from two talented parents, yet has managed to find her own success for actually being a good actress whom fans love for her own abilities. On Twitter, she keeps fans updated on what she is doing in life, and isn't shy when it comes to controversy... including her retweeting of some negative Tweets directed towards her from a few months ago. But above all else, she comes across as a down-to-earth person (even though she is both a celebrity and well-educated) and as a fun person.
Pick of the Tweets: "Too late to throw my hat in the ring for Pope candidate? I look dope in white. Also, I'm Jewish & a woman & biracial &...wait...forget it." (March 1, 2013)
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Episodic Reviews: Last Man Standing - "College Girl" and Malibu Country - "All You Single Ladies" Airing Tonight on ABC; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 25, 2013)
On the next...Last Man Standing:
By: Pavan
ABC's Friday night sitcom starring Tim Allen airs Friday nights at 8:00pm and we have just watched the season finale that airs tonight (March 22). Jonathan Taylor Thomas makes a special guest star appearance when he reunites with Tim Allen, his dad from Home Improvement. In the season finale episode airing tonight, "College Girl," when the less-than-studious Mandy (Molly Ephraim) gets accepted to not one but two colleges, Kristin (Amanda Fuller) realizes it's time to reevaluate where she is in her life. While out on a special date with Ryan (Jordan Masterson), she is pleasantly surprised to see Jon (special guest Jonathan Taylor Thomas), a former co-worker from the diner where she still works, who is now the successful owner of a hip, upscale restaurant. Meanwhile, Mike (Tim Allen) and Vanessa (Nancy Travis) wonder if Mandy's college choice, a party school in California, is right for her; and Eve (Kaitlyn Dever) gets help with her Junior ROTC competition from neighbor Chuck Larabee (guest star Jonathan Adams).
It's another good episode for this series. The big draw of the episode is Jonathan Taylor Thomas guest starring and reuniting with his TV dad Tim Allen from Home Improvement. It's also the season finale and while Thomas doesn't have many scenes, the ones he has stand-out. Mandy has been accepted to an expensive college Laguna Beach, but Mike & Vanessa think she is a better fit for UC-Denver since it would save them $200,000. She obviously wants to know to Laguna Beach University, but what will that mean for her and Kyle? All I'll say is Kyle's hilarious one-liners continue. He's do dumb but lovable. In another storyline, Kristin and Ryan go on a date at an expensive restaurant (that Ryan can't afford). All of a sudden Kristin's former co-worker Jon Baker pops-up (literally!)...and he is now the owner a restaurant, the one they are dining at! They get a free meal out of it and Kristin begins to ponder that she needs to move on with her life...which means she wants to now move out of her parents house, but not move in with Ryan. In a sub-plot, Eve and next-door neighbor Mr. Larabee practice for a ROTC competition, while this doesn't have much time as the other two storylines, it still brings the funny.
The reunion between Tim Allen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas has a great scene towards the end of the episode. There are some great Home Improvement references, including "more power" and Tim's roar. Tim's character Mike is involved in all of the story-lines including the really small plot of Boyd pranking everyone. When Mike is involved in all storylines in an episode, you know it is a strong episode. Even Mr. Larabee gets involved a bit in the Kristin-Ryan storyline. It's a great season finale and felt like a season finale. Kristin has some announcements at the end of the episode (will Jon Baker be involved?) and I can't wait to see what happens next season! We also get a resolution for Mandy's college decision, either way, it'll be interesting to see her live the college life next season whether it's at LBU or UC-D. Great episode and a great season (especially the second half). B+
On the next...Malibu Country:
By: Pavan
ABC's Friday night sitcom starring Reba airs Friday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the season finale of this sitcom as well that airs tonight (March 22). Is Reba headed into the dating world? In the season finale episode airing tonight, "All You Single Ladies," Reba's (Reba McEntire) family secretly makes an online date on her behalf, but her first meeting with Brad (guest star Stacy Keach, Mike Hammer, Private Eye) doesn't exactly go as planned. Nonetheless, Reba finds herself appreciating the experience and admits that she might finally be ready to tackle the dating scene.
Reba is heading back to the dating world, but will it work out? On the season finale, she is not looking to date again (instead she wants to stay home and do a puzzle) but her family (lead by her mom Lillie Mae and friend Kim) realizes that she needs to go on a date, especially after the mail guy flirts with her. They then create a profile for her on the online dating website "Find That Mate." However, the picture they used was from 10 years ago and used an app called Photox to "enhance" it. They also already accepted a date on behalf of her with this guy named Brad. When Reba meets Brad for coffee the next day, we get a hilarious surprise ("Jurassic Brad!"). I'll say they don't really hit it off, but Lilly Mae was at the coffee place as Reba's "wing woman" and something will happen. Even more hilarious! In other storylines, Cash also tries to get in on the online dating game, as June helps him set-up his profile, but he wants to look older because he wants a college girl. Like Reba's encounter, the girl she meets is not who he expected! Also, June is celebrating her 19th day anniversary with Sage. But there is not much at all on that.
This is a good episode, but just didn't feel like a season finale to me. That's not a bad thing, but just pointing that out. Brad said that Reba wasn't fun, so Reba tries to prove that she is by going on a trapeze and the episode ends as a success for Reba. Without giving it away, it looks like next season we will have more of this. She certainly abandoned her fears and took some risks! Good ending and I hope we get to see more next season. I think it will be back. Solid Friday show and throwback to TGIF style shows. B-
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 March 25-29, 2013, 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, March 25, 2013
- Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) - Watch Ray on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Scott Baio (See Dad Run/Charles in Charge/Happy Days) - Scott meets three fans on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Anson Williams (Happy Days) - Anson reminisces with Marie on the long-running show and reveals his latest entrepreneurial ventures as an inventor on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Todd Bridges (Diff'rent Strokes) - Todd appears on Katie, so check your local listings.
- Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen) - Catch Jeremy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sarah Chalke (How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)/Scrubs/Roseanne) - Sarah visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley is a guest on a repeat of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena appears on a repeat of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Jerry Trainor (Wendell & Vinnie/Drake & Josh/iCarly) - Jerry stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Courteney Cox (Cougar Town/Friends) - Tune in to see Courteney on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Brandy Norwood (Moesha), Lauren London and Jay Ellis (The Game) - Brandy, Lauren and Jay dish about the new season of The Game on The Wendy Williams Show at 1am on BET or on your local stations. The show repeats on Friday.
- Don Rickles (C.P.O. Sharkey/Daddy Dearest) - Watch Mr. Warmth on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Seth Green (Greg the Bunny/Four Kings) - Seth appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Watch Betty on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Nick visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen) - Jeremy continues to make the rounds on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- Julie White (Go On/Grace Under Fire) - Julie reveals what it was like working with beloved stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Steven Spielberg on the set of Oscar® nominated film Lincoln on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Benjamin Stockham (1600 Penn/Sons of Tucson) - Benjamin talks to Marie about working on 1600 Penn on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Lily Tomlin (Malibu Country) - Lily chats on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Kathy guest co-hosts Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena appears on a repeat of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
BET/Centric Acquire Fresh Prince, Martin, Plus Renewals; ABC Season Finale Dates for 2012-13 Season
BET Networks announced that it has licensed an extensive package of iconic, successful off-net programming from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. And the off-network programming are '90s sitcoms! The series, which features such world-recognized and award-winning actors such as Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence, includes The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Family Matters, Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show and The Wayans Bros. to air on BET and Centric. In addition, Viacom sibling Nick at Nite has retained the rights to continue airing Full House, while another sibling, MTV2, has acquired the rights to air Living Single. As for the current schedule, Family Matters already started airing on BET earlier this month, as we previously mentioned. The sitcom was borrowed from sister network Nick at Nite and has made the move to BET. In regards to the other sitcoms we mentioned, Martin currently is on sibling MTV2 (shared with TV One), while The Jamie Foxx Show and The Wayans Bros. have already been airing on BET/Centric for sometime now, so these are more renewals than anything. The Wayans Bros. sometimes even pops-up on sister net MTV2. Martin will start on BET/Centric soon and it will be exclusive to BET Networks in the next few years (by Fall 2015), Barbara Zaneri (Executive Vice President, Program Strategy, Scheduling and Acquisitions, BET Networks) tells us. Stay tuned for updates on that.
The real new deal for BET/Centric is for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Currently, it is not airing on any Viacom-owned network, as it is airing on TBS and ABC Family. Barbara Zaneri has told us exclusively that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will be exclusive to BET Networks and Viacom Media Networks and will begin airing in Fall 2014. MTV2 also has a brand new deal. It has acquired Living Single, which like Fresh Prince, is currently not on a Viacom-owned network. Living Single currently airs on TV One and we'll have news on its launch date on MTV2 shortly. Barbara says it won't pop-up on BET/Centric for now, but she loves the show, so you never know. Like Martin, Fresh Prince, Barbara tells us the series will be exclusive to BET/Viacom Networks. And finally, Full House is a renewal for Nick at Nite (it's being shared with ABC Family), so you'll continue to see that in primetime on Nick at Nite. We're not sure if this renewal will be now exclusive to Viacom, but we'll find out soon. Stay with us as we will bring you premiere dates and the schedule for these shows (especially Fresh Prince and Living Single, since they are brand new deals) on BET, Centric, and MTV2. There could be more shows in this deal, but these are a lot of shows and deals. We mentioned Roc to Barbara, since that would go well with The Jamie Foxx Show, since Jamie had a recurring role on that series. Special thanks to Barbara Zaneri for all key exclusive and launch information!
ABC has announced its season finale dates for 2012-13 series. The finales begin this Friday (Friday, March 22) with the season finales for sitcoms Last Man Standing and Malibu Country beginning at 8pm. Look for our reviews of both tomorrow before they air! Happy Endings will then move into the hour with back-to-back episodes for at least the next three weeks (March 29, April 5, and April 12). The Neighbors wraps up its freshman season next Wednesday (March 27) at 8:30pm, as we knew. Then the remaining finale dates are new news. Suburgatory, which moves back to 8:30pm on April 3, will conclude its second season on Wednesday, April 17 with a 2-episode finale starting at a special time of 8pm. The remaining season finales will air in the May sweep primarily, with Wife Swap (which has its season premiere tonight) on Thursday, May 2 at 8 (summer series Wipeout premieres May 9). The other ABC Thursday finales will be on Thursday, May 16 with Grey's Anatomy at 9 and Scandal at 10. On to Sunday, new drama Red Widow will conclude on Sunday, May 5 at 10 (if it doesn't get pulled due to low ratings). The big Sunday guns of Once Upon a Time and Revenge will end their seasons the following week on May 12 from 8-11pm, with Revenge having a two-episode finale from 9-11pm. America's Funniest Home Videos will conclude its season on the final Sunday of the season on Sunday, May 19 at 7pm (leading into the Billboard Music Awards). New celebrity competition series Splash, which premiered to good ratings this week, will end its first season on Tuesday, May 7 at 8pm. Dancing with the Stars will end its season with a two-night finale event, with The Finals airing Monday, May 20 from 8-9pm and The Finale on Tuesday, May 21 from 8-10pm. No word what will air May 14 at 8 or May 21 at 10 (the latter could be regularly scheduled Body of Proof as usual, but I don't think it will be). Speaking of Body of Proof, it will have its season finale the following Tuesday on May 28 at 10, which is the first Tuesday of the summer. Back to Monday, Castle will have its season finale on Monday, May 13 at 10, since The Bachelorette will premiere May 20 from 9-11pm, as previously announced. On Friday, May 17, Shark Tank will end its series high 26-episode season at 9pm. Happy Endings is scheduled for Fridays at 8, but that is just for three weeks, as of now. ABC could opt to air it Wednesdays at 8:30pm for May sweep to finish off its remaining four episodes, however ABC had previously announced new sitcom Family Tools for that slot, though we haven't heard anything more on it since. They could air that series in the summer instead. Back to the finales, ABC ends the season with the Wednesday finales on Wednesday, May 22: The Middle at 8, Modern Family at 9, and freshman drama Nashville at 10. ABC will premiere How To Live with Your Parents on April 3, but no finale date has been announced yet, but it will likely be on May 22, too. That would mean that only 8 episodes will air out of its 13 episode order, but ABC could hold on to the remaining five for next season, should it do well in the ratings. View the ABC 2012-13 season finale dates. That's it, stay with us for further information as always!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
NBC Season Finale Dates for 2012-13 Season; PBS Announces Carol Burnett Night for April 9
NBC has announced season-ending dates for a handful of its series, including new dramas Revolution and Chicago Fire, as well as critically acclaimed comedy Parks and Recreation. The fall's #1 drama on broadcast television in the 18-49 demo, Revolution is returning next Monday (March 25) but it will have its season finale on Memorial Day - Monday, May 27 at 10. Chicago Fire will close out its first season on the second to last Wednesday of the season on Wednesday, May 15 at 10. Parks and Recreation is moving back to 9:30pm beginning April 18 for three weeks and it concludes its season on Thursday, May 2 at 9:30pm ET, with Community wrapping up a week later, Thursday, May 9 at 8.
As previously mentioned, two back-to-back episodes of The New Normal will air on on Tuesday, April 2 from 9-10pm concluding its season (and perhaps the series). And Go On will wrap its season on a special night on Thursday, April 11 at 9:30pm. Whitney will air back-to-back episodes next Wednesday, March 27 from 8-9pm to end its season, while new comedy 1600 Penn will air its final episodes of the season (or series) on Thursday, March 28 at 8:30 and 9:30pm. It was previously announced that the long-running comedy The Office will lock its doors with an hour-long series finale on Thursday, May 16 from 9-10pm (the series will also air two episodes on May 9 from 9-10pm). Other scripted series that have just announced season end dates are Grimm on Friday, May 17 at 9, upcoming new drama Hannibal on Thursday, June 27 at 10pm ET and Law & Order: SVU, which will conclude the season with a two-hour episode on Wednesday, May 22 from 9-11pm.
As for its reality shows, NBC's Fashion Star will end its second season on Friday, May 10 at 8 and Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice wraps on Sunday, May 19 from 9-11pm. The Voice is retuning next Monday but it will end its season with a live season finale on Tuesday, June 18 at a special time from 9-11pm. Meanwhile, NBC's America's Got Talent will return for its eighth season this summer when it premieres on Tuesday, June 4 from 9-11pm following an all-new episode of The Voice. It will continue to air Tuesdays 9-11pm through August 27. The second night will begin on Wednesday, July 10 from 8-9pm and will run through August 28. View all of the finale dates and other scheduling info. Stay with us for updates.
PBS announces "Carol Burnett Night," on Tuesday, April 9, 2013, featuring two shows that chronicle the longtime success of a beloved television comedy star. An encore of the 90-minute American Masters: "Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character" leads the night, followed by a 30-minute encore edition of the PBS series Pioneers of Television, called "Carol Burnett and the Funny Ladies" - in which iconic TV stars discuss Burnett's legacy and her influence on contemporary comedy stars. American Masters: "Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character" will air at 8pm, while Pioneers of Television: "Carol Burnett and the Funny Ladies" airs at 9:30pm. American Masters: "Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character" salutes this one-woman army of comedic characters who seduced countless Saturday night friends to fall in love with her and her wacky creations. The film is directed by Kyra Thompson, who frames the 90-minute film with one of Burnett's signature devices: the audience Q&A that faithfully opened her weekly show (which won 25 Emmy Awards from 1967 to 1978). The questions — and Burnett's hilarious improvised responses — provide the spine for a story of her life and career. Interviews with those who knew her best reveal the personal side of the public personae. While, Pioneers of Television: "Carol Burnett and the Funny Ladies" focuses around Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball and Betty White - three leading ladies of television comedy. The episode includes reflections from Carol Burnett, Betty White, Tina Fey, Dick Van Dyke, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Cloris Leachman, Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho and the late Phyllis Diller, recounting stories about the featured funny ladies and discussing their impact on American television and entertainment. The episode includes iconic clips and photos to offer an insider's look at these beloved celebrities.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
TV One Orders Second Season of Sitcom Rickey Smiley Show; Episodic Review: New Girl - "Quick Hardening Caulk" Airing Tonight on Fox
TV One, on the heels of a record-breaking 2012 fall launch, has announced a second season pick-up of its original hit sitcom The Rickey Smiley Show. The second season of The Rickey Smiley Show is scheduled to begin production in April with a 26-episode order and is slated to premiere in the summer of 2013. The September 2012 premiere of The Rickey Smiley Show, which catapulted TV One to a network ratings high, garnered a 1.08 HH rating, delivering 621,000 homes and among P25-54, earned a 0.75 rating, delivering 468,000 viewers. The second original episode airing at 9:30pm improved on the premiere, garnering a 1.12 HH rating, delivering 642,000 homes and among 25-54, earned a 0.83 rating with a delivery of 515,000 viewers. Over the four telecasts of the premieres and encores, The Rickey Smiley Show had a gross average audience of nearly 2.3 million viewers.
The Rickey Smiley Show stars comedian and nationally syndicated radio personality Rickey Smiley. In the series loosely based on his life, Smiley plays a popular national radio personality who is a single father trying to balance his family life - including his ex-wife - and career in the spotlight. The half-hour multi-camera comedy also stars multi-platinum artist and actor Ray J as Kenny, Smiley's morning show producer and protégé; J Anthony Brown as Rickey's radio station manager Maurice, aka "Mo-Sweets" from his earlier rap career; veteran actress Roz Ryan as Aunt Sylvia; Jay Lewis as Rickey's 18-year-old son Brandon; Ajiona Alexus as Smiley's 16-year-old daughter De'Anna; Gabriel Burgess as his youngest son Aaron; Noree Victoria as his business manager Simone Renee Jackson; and Demetria McKinney as Rickey's uber-career oriented ex-wife, Monica. The series also features several celebrity guest stars and special appearances from many of the original characters Smiley has made famous on his radio show over the years, including Mrs. Bernice Jenkins, Lil' Daryl, Minister Joe Willie and Beauford. The Rickey Smiley Show is produced for TV One by BobbCat Films. Executive producers include veteran television and film producer Roger Bobb (Tyler Perry's House of Payne & Meet the Browns), series star Rickey Smiley, Yolanda Starks-White, and Ward White. Executive in charge of production for TV One is Tia Smith.
Stay with us in the coming days as we announce a classic comedy coming to the TV One Friday Night Classic Comedy line-up this spring, joining recent addition What's Happening!!, and other series like The Jeffersons. And stay with us for continued updates ob The Rickey Smiley Show and all things TV One!
By: Todd
Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 19). We have Odette Annable (Fox's Breaking In, House) guest starring! In the episode airing tonight, "Quick Hardening Caulk," Jess (Zooey Deschanel) comes to a conclusion about her romantic feelings for Nick (Jake Johnson) and she struggles to tell him - until she's hopped up on pain medication. But after admitting her feelings, she finds out he may have been keeping something from her. Meanwhile, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) becomes obsessed with buying a fish, which Winston (Lamorne Morris) sees as a metaphor for Schmidt's unresolved feelings toward Cece (Hannah Simone). And, Nick plans a bar promotion to impress the bar owner (guest star Odette Annable).
The episode opens with Schmidt and the gang drinking at the bar. They are surprised when Nick gives them a check. Nick comes up with a promotion of a guys' night out. Nick's ambition at the bar makes Jess want him even more. Later, Schmidt and Winston see the new bar manager, Shane, kissing Nick at the bar. Schmidt and Winston then go the aquarium where Schmidt spots a beautiful and exotic fish. The gang is surprised when Schmidt brings an aquarium into the apartment. Jess takes Nick to the hardware store to pick up some supplies, including some quick hardening caulk, for the promotion at the bar. Jess is accidentally knocked out by a piece of wood. While she is hopped up on pain medication, she does a Judy Garland impersonation and shows him her true feelings. Schmidt and Winston take their search for the elusive lion fish to the ocean, but trouble strikes for Schmidt. Jess surprises Nick at the bar where she sees a secret has been kept from her. Cece later visits Schmidt and brings him a gift. Finally, Jess and Nick get in a huge argument at the apartment over what she witnessed at the bar.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Curb Gets Curbed on TV Land; Antenna TV Celebrates April Fool's Day with Fumbling Fools
TV Land launched reruns of the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm in February by adding it to its late night line-up but now it is getting the boot in late night during the week. It's getting kicked to the curb. The comedy was airing every night from 2-3am and Sunday late nights from 2-6am, but the Mon-Sat airings have been now dropped. The comedy, which has been a big bust in syndication (TV Guide, WGN, local stations, etc.), is now only airing Sundays from approx. 3:30-6am. More That '70s Show has replaced it on the schedule, with Ashton and company airing Mon-Sat approx. 2:30-4:30am. TV Land just launched The Golden Girls this weekend, so now their focus has shifted to that series that fits the schedule much more than Curb. Betty White's '80s series is having a week-long primetime tribute this week to each Golden Girl character from Mach 18-21, 7-10pm. Then, fans take over the air! Viewers can go online now (hurry, voting closes at 11:59pm ET on Wednesday, March 20) and choose their favorite episodes on TV Land's Facebook Page, then watch the results on Friday, March 22 from 7-10pm.
TV Land also has new reality series Forever Young premiering Wednesday, April 3 at 10pm for 5 weeks (to us it seems like a burn-off airings 10 episodes in 5 weeks and a series that really doesn't fit TV Land). The series, from the mind of Ashton Kutcher comes a unique social experiment: what happens when fun-loving, uninhibited twenty-somethings are unknowingly picked to live and work with strong-willed, opinionated seventy-somethings? As they compete in challenges designed to bridge the generation gap, they ultimately learn you don’t have to be old to be wise or young to be youthful! Anyway, stay with us for continued updates on TV Land. It doesn't seem TV Land will have a TV Land Awards event this year...well, at least not in April.
Antenna TV celebrates April Fool's with a "Fumbling Fools: The Three Stooges Marathon!" on April 1! Yes, celebrate April Fool's Day with a "fool" day of The Three Stooges. Antenna TV, which airs on 71 affiliates across the U.S. reaching 62% of TV households, kicks off its annual April Fool's Day marathon at 12 midnight ET on March 31 (technically April 1) and runs through 3am ET on April 2. The Fumbling Fools: Three Stooges marathon features 27 hours of yuks with 81 episodes of the Stooges. Some of the classic episodes airing are: "Pals and Gals, Some More of Samoa, Knutzy Knights;" "For Crimin' Out Loud, Dizzy Pilots, Phony Express;" "Out West, Men in Black, Hold That Lion;" "Sing a Song of Six Pants, Restless Knights, All Gummed Up;" and "The Hot Scots, Ants in the Pantry, Heavenly Daze." Stay with us in the coming weeks as we announce the Antenna TV spring schedule that will begin in late April. What shows will be leaving and coming? You'll have to stay with us!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Week 25 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2012-13 Week 25 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new from 8-11pm. A repeat of AFV starts it off, then new episodes of Once Upon a Time, Revenue and Red Widow, as Once airs a flashback on how the characters came to Storybrooke! I think it will be a first or second place finish for ABC, as it depends on how low Red Widow is. NBC devotes the night to Dateline from 7-9pm then Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars from 9-11pm. NBC will likely finish third or fourth place. CBS has 60 Minutes at 7, followed by a new Amazing Race, the new episodes of struggling The Good Wife & The Mentalist from 9-11pm. I'm thinking a third finish for CBS in 18-49. Fox's animation block is all new from 7:30-10pm and should be second (or first, if Red Widow does terrible at 10) place in 18-49.
As for the week (week 25), Fox will hang on and take the week again in 18-49. CBS will be second, and ABC will be third in 18-49. NBC will be way behind and of course in fourth. So basically similar to week 24. For total viewers, CBS will remain first. Fox should be second, followed by ABC. And NBC in a distant fourth. As for the coming week (week 26), ABC has the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars tomorrow that I think will do better than the all-star season. The 'how will they do' factor returns. NBC counteracts with the season finale of The Biggest Loser at 8 and dud Deception at 10. ABC also premieres Splash this Tuesday at 8 and I think that could do very well (meaning a solid second behind NCIS). Go Nicole Eggert! CBS will start the NCAA Tournament in primetime Thursday through Saturday. And on Friday, Last Man Standing & Malibu Country have their season finales on ABC, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas guest starring on the former!
Summing it up. The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Modern Family, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Rules of Engagement, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Neighbors, How I Met Your Mother) or just plain terrible (such as Community, 1600 Penn).
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 25 (March 11-17) Analysis: Daylight Savings Time has kicked in (since last Sunday) and this is the first full week with it and a lot of 8pm shows in particular saw drops. We don't have the final first four night network averages, a we don't have Thursday network numbers yet. We do have Thursday final program ratings below in our analysis. We can project through the first four nights, CBS is in the lead in HH/total viewers, while Fox is way on top in adults 18-49. CBS is in second place in 18-49, followed closely by ABC with a good Bachelor finale showing, then NBC is a very distant fourth like every week this winter. In HH/viewers, Fox is a close second behind CBS, while ABC is third. And NBC is a distant fourth which is a given without SNF and The Voice. When the week is done, Fox will hang on and take the week in 18-49 once again and CBS will take total viewers. More on that later. As for the previous week, week 24, Fox took home first in adults 18-49 with only a 2.3 rating. CBS was second and four tenths behind Fox, while ABC was four tenths behind CBS. NBC was way back there once again in fourth with just a 1.1 18-49 rating, four tenths behind ABC. Among total viewers, it was of course CBS on top easily over Fox and ABC. And NBC was way back behind in fourth, like every week since January.
Monday saw a big win for ABC with a big finale event. ABC started with a two-hour The Bachelor season finale from 8-10:07pm and did 10.42 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which is up seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Look for Dancing with the Stars season 16 to begin tomorrow night. Then Castle was preempted for the LIVE The Bachelor: After the Final Rose that did a big 10.81 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, unbelievable these days for 10pm. The finale event was up from last winter's finale by a good amount. For NBC, they had a two-hour The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 5.62 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. It's done OK, nothing special like the competing ABC reality series. At 10pm, week ten (just one more to go NBC!) of new drama dud Deception didn't do much with 3.28 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was on par in 18-49 with previous week. CBS was almost all repeats with its comedies again, as a repeat of How I Met Your Mother did 5.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A new Rules of Engagement at 8:30pm did 7.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Not too bad since the lead-in and lead-out were repeats again. At 9pm, a repeat of 2 Broke Girls followed with 6.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week's repeat. Next, a repeat of Mike & Molly did 6.39 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 6.87 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Fox aired a repeat of Bones at 8 and it did 5.05 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 9pm, week eight of new drama The Following at 9pm didn't miss a beat really with 8.15 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which down just a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired week nine of The Carrie Diaries at 8 and did 1.03 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, which is again on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9, 90210 was new and did only 0.67 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Pathetic. The show has been canceled and will end in May.
On Tuesday, it was Fox with the victory for the second straight Tuesday thanks to the return of Hell's Kitchen. On CBS, NCIS was a repeat and did 13.18 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is solid for a repeat. At 9pm, a repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles did 11.95 million and that same 1.9 18-49 rating. At 10pm, week three of Golden Boy did 8.53 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and good enough to win a weak hour. Onto ABC, at 8pm week three of Celebrity Wife Swap did 5.02 million and a 1.6 18-48 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. More celebrity episodes will air in summer, as Splash will start this week. At 9pm, the season finale of The Taste did 3.45 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. I guess this was working more at 8pm, so there is a lesson, sometimes a move to 9pm doesn't work for an 8pm show. A new Body of Proof aired at 10pm and did 6.6 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's season high. I think it will be better once compatible Dancing comes as a lead-in this week (and next week with Results). NBC aired Betty White's Off Their Rockers from 8-9pm as the first half-hour was a repeat and did 3.59 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week. A new episode followed at 8:30pm and did 3.59 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, also down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, Go On was a repeat and it only did 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. It's tough to keep a comedy on air if it doesn't repeat that well. At 9:30pm, it was more bad news as a repeat of The New Normal did a horrible 2.24 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Smash did 2.9 million and an embarrassing 0.9 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. It is moving to Saturdays at 9 beginning April 6. I bet they wished they had more Parenthood episodes now right? Fox preempted its comedies Raising Hope, New Girl and The Mindy Project once again, this time for the two-hour season premiere of Hell's Kitchen. The first hour did 5.3 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, while the second hour did 5.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, both hours were down 1.3 18-49 rating points from previous week's two-hour American Idol in the time period. The CW aired a repeat of Hart of Dixie and did just 0.75 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating. A repeat of Beauty & the Beast did 0.72 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
Wednesday it was Fox again with the win thanks to American Idol, as it airs two-hours every Wednesday and Fox only programs 2 hours a night. But first, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: Caramoan at 8 doing 9.89 million and a 2.718-49 rating, which is up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week for a season high. Criminal Minds was a repeat at 9 and did 7.21 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of CSI did 7.94 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week...good showing. ABC kicked off the night with a repeat of The Middle doing 4.75 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's repeat but still beat a new airing of NBC's comedy, ouch. At 8:30pm a new episode of The Neighbors did 4.72 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week, as its lead-in was a repeat again. What a great episode it was though. At 9pm, a repeat of Modern Family did the best of the block with 5.18 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which also down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Suburgatory followed at 9:30pm with a repeat doing 3.56 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Nashville was a repeat and did 2.69 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. This show will be back next season because it is so well done. On Fox, a two-hour American Idol did a solid 13.44 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week, as it finally didn't go down. Onto NBC a new episode of Whitney started it off at 8pm with 3.38 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, back down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and still couldn't top an ABC comedy repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed and did 2.45 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed at 9pm with a repeat that did only 4.59 million and only a 1.1 18-49 rating, but on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of Chicago Fire did 3.9 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired a repeat of its new hit Arrow and did 1.59 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9pm, a repeat of Supernatural did 1.32 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 week-to-week. These two shows work well with each other, even in repeats.
On Thursday, Idol plummeted so CBS took the night. Starting with ABC, a repeat of Shark Tank aired and did 4.47 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week, as this series is so durable anywhere. The regular season premiere of Wife Swap is this Thursday at 8. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was all-new and did 8.2 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, a season low but not too bad after a few repeats and on a night with repeats at 8 and 10. At 10pm, ABC aired a repeat of TV's #1 show at 10pm Scandal doing 3.86 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. New episode this Thursday, people! CBS had a night of new episodes and opened with a new The Big Bang Theory doing 15.9 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week of course but down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week as Daylight Savings Time has hit. A new Two and a Half Men was up next and benefited with 12.18 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, but down six tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, a new episode of older-skewing Person of Interest followed with 14.34 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a new showing of freshman Elementary closed the night with 11.33 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, if it wasn't for Scandal, this would be a good 10pm number. Fox had American Idol from 8-9pm and did 11.93 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which was down five tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 8-9:32pm. Glee aired at its normal time of 9pm and did 5.37 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 9:32-10:32pm. NBC aired new episodes of its comedies, as week six of Community did 2.58 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Daylight savings time factor, but I still find it odd that this show airs at 8pm in the first place. Parks & Recreation was new at 8:30pm and did 3.0 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, not too good but it built nicely from its lead-in. A new The Office was next and did only 3.54 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is not good. At 9:30m a new 1600 Penn, which is doing horrible, did only 2.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. They have four episodes left and NBC will burn them off the next two Thursdays. At 10pm, NBC had a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 3.77 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, as that was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries aired at 8 but was new and did 2.41 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as it seems the younger skewing shows were hit hard by daylight savings time returning. At 9, Beauty and the Beast was also new and did 1.43 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, which could be better.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS tied ABC Friday for first in 18-49, as the top show on ABC was a repeat. CBS had a repeat of Undercover Boss at 8 and it managed to be first place. Kitchen Nightmares was third for Fox as ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country were second, but Last Man won its 8pm, half-hour. NBC's Fashion Star was again in fourth place. ABC was still in first at 9pm by a lot even when Shark Tank is a repeat, easily beating a new Grimm on NBC. CBS was third with a repeat of Hawaii Five-0. At 10, Rock Center was last place again for NBC, losing to first place Blue Bloods on CBS and second place 20/20 on ABC. Fox again struggled badly with Touch at 9, with distant fourth place finish.
Saturday had ABC win on a very slow night again. Fox took the 8pm hour with Cops, but struggled at 9 again with a repeat of The Following. CBS struggled at 10pm with 48 Hours, as ABC took the hour with with 20/20 Saturday from 9-11pm. That series also took the 9pm hour. NBC settled for repeats of American Ninja Warrior, Chicago Fire and SNL which all struggled but the latter was second place at 10. CBS didn't do much with crime repeats from 8-10pm. ABC aired a repeat of Celebrity Wife Swap at 8pm and was second place.
Monday saw a big win for ABC with a big finale event. ABC started with a two-hour The Bachelor season finale from 8-10:07pm and did 10.42 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which is up seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Look for Dancing with the Stars season 16 to begin tomorrow night. Then Castle was preempted for the LIVE The Bachelor: After the Final Rose that did a big 10.81 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, unbelievable these days for 10pm. The finale event was up from last winter's finale by a good amount. For NBC, they had a two-hour The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 5.62 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. It's done OK, nothing special like the competing ABC reality series. At 10pm, week ten (just one more to go NBC!) of new drama dud Deception didn't do much with 3.28 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was on par in 18-49 with previous week. CBS was almost all repeats with its comedies again, as a repeat of How I Met Your Mother did 5.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A new Rules of Engagement at 8:30pm did 7.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Not too bad since the lead-in and lead-out were repeats again. At 9pm, a repeat of 2 Broke Girls followed with 6.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week's repeat. Next, a repeat of Mike & Molly did 6.39 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 6.87 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Fox aired a repeat of Bones at 8 and it did 5.05 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 9pm, week eight of new drama The Following at 9pm didn't miss a beat really with 8.15 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which down just a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired week nine of The Carrie Diaries at 8 and did 1.03 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, which is again on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9, 90210 was new and did only 0.67 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Pathetic. The show has been canceled and will end in May.
On Tuesday, it was Fox with the victory for the second straight Tuesday thanks to the return of Hell's Kitchen. On CBS, NCIS was a repeat and did 13.18 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is solid for a repeat. At 9pm, a repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles did 11.95 million and that same 1.9 18-49 rating. At 10pm, week three of Golden Boy did 8.53 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and good enough to win a weak hour. Onto ABC, at 8pm week three of Celebrity Wife Swap did 5.02 million and a 1.6 18-48 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. More celebrity episodes will air in summer, as Splash will start this week. At 9pm, the season finale of The Taste did 3.45 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. I guess this was working more at 8pm, so there is a lesson, sometimes a move to 9pm doesn't work for an 8pm show. A new Body of Proof aired at 10pm and did 6.6 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's season high. I think it will be better once compatible Dancing comes as a lead-in this week (and next week with Results). NBC aired Betty White's Off Their Rockers from 8-9pm as the first half-hour was a repeat and did 3.59 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week. A new episode followed at 8:30pm and did 3.59 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, also down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, Go On was a repeat and it only did 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. It's tough to keep a comedy on air if it doesn't repeat that well. At 9:30pm, it was more bad news as a repeat of The New Normal did a horrible 2.24 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Smash did 2.9 million and an embarrassing 0.9 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. It is moving to Saturdays at 9 beginning April 6. I bet they wished they had more Parenthood episodes now right? Fox preempted its comedies Raising Hope, New Girl and The Mindy Project once again, this time for the two-hour season premiere of Hell's Kitchen. The first hour did 5.3 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, while the second hour did 5.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, both hours were down 1.3 18-49 rating points from previous week's two-hour American Idol in the time period. The CW aired a repeat of Hart of Dixie and did just 0.75 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating. A repeat of Beauty & the Beast did 0.72 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.
Wednesday it was Fox again with the win thanks to American Idol, as it airs two-hours every Wednesday and Fox only programs 2 hours a night. But first, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: Caramoan at 8 doing 9.89 million and a 2.718-49 rating, which is up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week for a season high. Criminal Minds was a repeat at 9 and did 7.21 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of CSI did 7.94 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week...good showing. ABC kicked off the night with a repeat of The Middle doing 4.75 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's repeat but still beat a new airing of NBC's comedy, ouch. At 8:30pm a new episode of The Neighbors did 4.72 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week, as its lead-in was a repeat again. What a great episode it was though. At 9pm, a repeat of Modern Family did the best of the block with 5.18 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which also down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Suburgatory followed at 9:30pm with a repeat doing 3.56 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Nashville was a repeat and did 2.69 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. This show will be back next season because it is so well done. On Fox, a two-hour American Idol did a solid 13.44 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week, as it finally didn't go down. Onto NBC a new episode of Whitney started it off at 8pm with 3.38 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, back down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and still couldn't top an ABC comedy repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed and did 2.45 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed at 9pm with a repeat that did only 4.59 million and only a 1.1 18-49 rating, but on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of Chicago Fire did 3.9 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired a repeat of its new hit Arrow and did 1.59 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9pm, a repeat of Supernatural did 1.32 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 week-to-week. These two shows work well with each other, even in repeats.
On Thursday, Idol plummeted so CBS took the night. Starting with ABC, a repeat of Shark Tank aired and did 4.47 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week, as this series is so durable anywhere. The regular season premiere of Wife Swap is this Thursday at 8. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was all-new and did 8.2 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, a season low but not too bad after a few repeats and on a night with repeats at 8 and 10. At 10pm, ABC aired a repeat of TV's #1 show at 10pm Scandal doing 3.86 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. New episode this Thursday, people! CBS had a night of new episodes and opened with a new The Big Bang Theory doing 15.9 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week of course but down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week as Daylight Savings Time has hit. A new Two and a Half Men was up next and benefited with 12.18 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, but down six tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, a new episode of older-skewing Person of Interest followed with 14.34 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a new showing of freshman Elementary closed the night with 11.33 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, if it wasn't for Scandal, this would be a good 10pm number. Fox had American Idol from 8-9pm and did 11.93 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which was down five tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 8-9:32pm. Glee aired at its normal time of 9pm and did 5.37 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 9:32-10:32pm. NBC aired new episodes of its comedies, as week six of Community did 2.58 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Daylight savings time factor, but I still find it odd that this show airs at 8pm in the first place. Parks & Recreation was new at 8:30pm and did 3.0 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, not too good but it built nicely from its lead-in. A new The Office was next and did only 3.54 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is not good. At 9:30m a new 1600 Penn, which is doing horrible, did only 2.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. They have four episodes left and NBC will burn them off the next two Thursdays. At 10pm, NBC had a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 3.77 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, as that was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries aired at 8 but was new and did 2.41 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as it seems the younger skewing shows were hit hard by daylight savings time returning. At 9, Beauty and the Beast was also new and did 1.43 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, which could be better.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS tied ABC Friday for first in 18-49, as the top show on ABC was a repeat. CBS had a repeat of Undercover Boss at 8 and it managed to be first place. Kitchen Nightmares was third for Fox as ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country were second, but Last Man won its 8pm, half-hour. NBC's Fashion Star was again in fourth place. ABC was still in first at 9pm by a lot even when Shark Tank is a repeat, easily beating a new Grimm on NBC. CBS was third with a repeat of Hawaii Five-0. At 10, Rock Center was last place again for NBC, losing to first place Blue Bloods on CBS and second place 20/20 on ABC. Fox again struggled badly with Touch at 9, with distant fourth place finish.
Saturday had ABC win on a very slow night again. Fox took the 8pm hour with Cops, but struggled at 9 again with a repeat of The Following. CBS struggled at 10pm with 48 Hours, as ABC took the hour with with 20/20 Saturday from 9-11pm. That series also took the 9pm hour. NBC settled for repeats of American Ninja Warrior, Chicago Fire and SNL which all struggled but the latter was second place at 10. CBS didn't do much with crime repeats from 8-10pm. ABC aired a repeat of Celebrity Wife Swap at 8pm and was second place.
Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new from 8-11pm. A repeat of AFV starts it off, then new episodes of Once Upon a Time, Revenue and Red Widow, as Once airs a flashback on how the characters came to Storybrooke! I think it will be a first or second place finish for ABC, as it depends on how low Red Widow is. NBC devotes the night to Dateline from 7-9pm then Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars from 9-11pm. NBC will likely finish third or fourth place. CBS has 60 Minutes at 7, followed by a new Amazing Race, the new episodes of struggling The Good Wife & The Mentalist from 9-11pm. I'm thinking a third finish for CBS in 18-49. Fox's animation block is all new from 7:30-10pm and should be second (or first, if Red Widow does terrible at 10) place in 18-49.
As for the week (week 25), Fox will hang on and take the week again in 18-49. CBS will be second, and ABC will be third in 18-49. NBC will be way behind and of course in fourth. So basically similar to week 24. For total viewers, CBS will remain first. Fox should be second, followed by ABC. And NBC in a distant fourth. As for the coming week (week 26), ABC has the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars tomorrow that I think will do better than the all-star season. The 'how will they do' factor returns. NBC counteracts with the season finale of The Biggest Loser at 8 and dud Deception at 10. ABC also premieres Splash this Tuesday at 8 and I think that could do very well (meaning a solid second behind NCIS). Go Nicole Eggert! CBS will start the NCAA Tournament in primetime Thursday through Saturday. And on Friday, Last Man Standing & Malibu Country have their season finales on ABC, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas guest starring on the former!
Week 25 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 24 -- March 4-10)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode at 8 did 4.85 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week in 18-49.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Its normal time of 7:30pm was preempted, but a special new episode at a special time of 8:30pm did 4.04 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 with previous week, like its lead-in
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) 2 airings - The normal 8:30 airing was preempted, but a new episode aired at a special time of 9:30pm again and did 3.85 million and 1.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat at 7pm did 2.07 million and just a 0.9 18-49 rating, a half a point lower in 18-49 than previous week's Simpsons repeat in the time period.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode at 9 did 5.27 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, the best of the block and #1 for the night.
- American Dad! (Fox) - A new episode aired at a special time of 7:30pm instead of 9:30pm and did 3.27 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which of course is below normal.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat at 8 did 5.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week's repeat.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - Week six at 8:30pm did 7.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, solid but down a tenth in 18-49 from the previous week since the lead-in was a repeat again. On an island of repeats, so not too bad.
- 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A repeat at 9 did 6.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week's encore.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 6.39 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Only built on total viewers from its lead-in this time.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
- New Girl (Fox) - preempted.
- Go On (NBC) - A repeat (gulp!) of this series did just 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating.
- The Mindy Project (Fox) - preempted.
- The New Normal (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm was clobbered with just 2.14 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. I guess the bright spot is that it was only down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week...but that was a new episode.
- The Middle (ABC) - A repeat at 8 did 4.75 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which is down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. DST factor maybe.
- Whitney (NBC) 2 airings - A new episode at 8 did 3.38 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and it didn't beat a competing ABC comedy when it was a repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed with only 2.45 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week.
- The Neighbors (ABC) - A new showing of this new comedy did 4.72 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. That was such a good episode and its a shame it was surrounded by repeats.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9 did 5.18 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week but #1 for the block as usual even when it is a repeat. Sign of a strong anchor.
- Suburgatory (ABC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 3.56 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which is OK. It's all-new this Wednesday, along with The Neighbors.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - At 8pm, a new episode did 15.9 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week but down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week as Daylight Savings Time is here. I thought it would do a 5 at least, but still good.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A new episode did 12.18 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, solid but tumbled down six tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a season low.
- Community (NBC) - Week six did 2.58 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which is down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week. As I expected, it went down this Thursday.
- Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A new showing at 8:30pm did 3.0 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, not too good but it is doable.
- The Office (NBC) - A new episode at 9 did 3.59 million and only a 1.9 18-49 rating, for one of its lower rated episodes ever.
- 1600 Penn (NBC) - A new episode at 9:30pm did only 2.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from the previous week. Not too good since the previous week the lead-in was a repeat and it only went up a tenth.
- Last Man Standing (ABC) - A new episode did a prelim 6.4 million and a prelim 1.3 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week's preliminaries. Richard Karn was great again! Season finale this week with JTT!
- Malibu Country (ABC) - A new airing of this new comedy did a prelim 5.52 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's prelim ratings. Season finale also this week.
- None.
Summing it up. The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Modern Family, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Rules of Engagement, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Neighbors, How I Met Your Mother) or just plain terrible (such as Community, 1600 Penn).
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Digital Digest: Jack Benny Update; New Crackle Content; MADtv - The Complete Second Season DVD Review
Welcome to this (really not so special) St. Patrick's Day weekend edition of Digital Digest! This weekend, along with all of your regular features, we've got a review of MADtv - The Complete Second Season. Let's get rolling!
DIGITAL NEWS
We reported on a release of The Jack Benny Program from Shout! Factory last year, and not much has materialized... but now, there seems to be a bit more, courtesy of The International Jack Benny Fan Club website. According to the fan site, the release will be coming to stores on July 23... but if you can't wait that long, it'll be available to own on June 18 from the Shout! Factory website.
Crackle, the free online streaming service from Sony, announced plans to add the series The Shield to the service. The series will be rolled out in seasonal installments through 2014. Unlike many other comparable services, Crackle allows free ad-supported streaming on any device, including mobile devices. While this addition isn't huge news for sitcom fans, it does provide hope that they could do this with more sitcoms in the future. Right now, the service provides mostly sporadic episodes of series, so we can hope for more!
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 19) brings us another great Warner Archive release, as they bring us Alice - The Complete Third Season. Also, for fans of Carsey-Werner sitcoms, Mill Creek completes one (and comes close to completing another) with their releases of Roseanne - The Complete Seventh Season, Roseanne - The Complete Eighth Season, That '70s Show - Season Seven, and That '70s Show - Season Eight. Finally, Shout! Factory has Quincy, M.E. - Season Five.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: MADtv - The Complete Second Season (Shout!, $29.93)
by skees53
In the '90s, one of Fox's most successful series was the sketch comedy series In Living Color. Unfortunately, a fallout with the Wayans family caused the show to be slowly dismantled, ultimately to the point of cancellation in 1994. But Fox wasn't going to give up on sketch comedy. In 1995, MADtv debuted on the network. It wasn't quite the same as In Living Color, but it did bring a return of the old format, and even some of the original writers from that series. Airing on Saturday nights, the series ended up lasting for fourteen seasons with 321 episodes. Several years ago, Warner Home Video released the first season, but sales weren't as good as hoped. Now, Shout! Factory has picked up the rights to release seasons 2-5.
It is hard to summarize all of the episodes of a sketch comedy series, so I'll just go through some of my favorite sketches of the season. One of the recurring themes, particularly early in the season, is the 1996 presidential election. David Herman plays the role of Bob Dole, and Bryan Callen plays the role of Bill Clinton as they go head-to-head in the election. The Vancome Lady (Nicole Sullivan) has jobs at both the Betty Ford Clinic and a casino in this season, neither of which goes very well. Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson both play Samantha in a hilarious spoof of the classic series Bewitched. Another one of my favorites is Young Alanis, where Debra Wilson plays the role of Alanis Morissette in elementary school, complete with a parody of her well-known song (which still receives considerable radio airplay today) "Ought to Know." With NBC's Thursday night lineup being a huge deal in this era, the series creates a parody of an ideal show to air between Seinfeld and ER, called Test Pattern. An episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show that was "banned" gets a special airing on Nick at Nite in the episode that Adam Arkin hosts. Of course, there are a lot of other memorable recurring segments throughout the season, such as the UBS guy, the losers of the Lowered Expectations dating service, and one of my favorites X-News (which fit the whole "eXtreme" everything era of the 90s).
While the second season is very similar to the first in many regards, one key change in this season was to add a host to each episode of the series. The first of these hosts is Christina Applegate. Other hosts of interest to TV fans are Neve Campbell, Joe Rogan, French Stewart, Andrea Martin, Tommy Davidson, Mark Curry, Adam Arkin, and David Faustino.
The episodes on the set seem to be uncut, but I'm not sure what the source is for the episodes. At the beginning of each episode, there is a brief promo for the episode (like a syndication promo), and once the episode begins, there is a TV rating logo (i.e. TV-14) in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. In any event, I don't think there is anything wrong with these episodes. Runtimes of the episodes, listed by the name of the guest host, are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. Christina Applegate (42:54)
2. Ice-T (42:54)
3. Kim Coles (42:54)
4. Jack Wagner (42:54)
5. Neve Campbell (42:56)
6. Kevin McDonald (42:55)
Disc 2:
7. Joe Rogan (42:55)
8. French Stewart (42:54)
9. Harry Connick, Jr. (42:55)
10. Andrea Martin (42:58)
11. Superbowl Special (42:56)
Disc 3:
12. Rodney Dangerfield (42:55)
13. Queen Latifah (42:54)
14. Tommy Davidson (42:55)
15. Bobcat Goldthwait (42:56)
16. Pauly Shore (42:55)
17. Thomas Calabro (42:55)
Disc 4:
18. Mark Curry (42:55)
19. Adam Arkin (42:56)
20. Ryan Stiles (42:54)
21. David Faustino (42:53)
22. LL Cool J (42:55)
The set comes packaged in a Viva case, with some of the more memorable characters featured inside of "bubbles" on the cover and even more characters featured inside of "bubbles" on the back. There is also a description of the season on the back. Inside, you'll find the four discs, which contain 5-6 episodes per disc (more on the problems from that will come a bit later). Inside the case, a listing of hosts and airdates for the episodes is included.
The menus on the set are very basic... in fact, there is only one menu screen on each disc. On the menu, there is a Play All option, a listing of episodes, and a series of rapidly changing snapshots of Alfred E. Neuman. The theme song continuously loops in the background.
I'm not really overly impressed with the video and audio quality of this set, and I think that it likely has to do with the fact that so many episodes were crammed on each disc. Six episodes of a series that originally aired in a one hour time slot is overkill to some extent, and compression--something that hasn't been an issue on many DVDs recently--does seem to be a problem here. There are no subtitles or closed-captioning.
The set has one special feature... sort of. At the beginning of each episode, a promo plays for the episode, which I'm guessing was used for syndication. Other than that, we have nothing else. This set seems like a great set to include interviews. What else are the actors really doing now?
I'm glad that Shout! decided to pick up this series and continue it on DVD, but I certainly hope that they go beyond the fifth season. I enjoyed this series on Fox (up until the last season or two), and in watching this season, I've come to realize that the series really had not quite warmed up just yet. Some of the best actors and actresses of the series have yet to come, including Alex Borstein (now better known for her Family Guy voice work), Will Sasso, Mo Collins, Aries Spears, Stephnie Wier, and of course Michael McDonald. The only people truly memorable from this season are Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson. That doesn't mean the rest were bad, it is just that they didn't have the opportunity to play the characters that many fans truly loved on the series. In any event, I'm glad that we've at least got a chance to see this series on DVD, and can't wait to see more.
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
MADtv on TV.comIt is hard to summarize all of the episodes of a sketch comedy series, so I'll just go through some of my favorite sketches of the season. One of the recurring themes, particularly early in the season, is the 1996 presidential election. David Herman plays the role of Bob Dole, and Bryan Callen plays the role of Bill Clinton as they go head-to-head in the election. The Vancome Lady (Nicole Sullivan) has jobs at both the Betty Ford Clinic and a casino in this season, neither of which goes very well. Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson both play Samantha in a hilarious spoof of the classic series Bewitched. Another one of my favorites is Young Alanis, where Debra Wilson plays the role of Alanis Morissette in elementary school, complete with a parody of her well-known song (which still receives considerable radio airplay today) "Ought to Know." With NBC's Thursday night lineup being a huge deal in this era, the series creates a parody of an ideal show to air between Seinfeld and ER, called Test Pattern. An episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show that was "banned" gets a special airing on Nick at Nite in the episode that Adam Arkin hosts. Of course, there are a lot of other memorable recurring segments throughout the season, such as the UBS guy, the losers of the Lowered Expectations dating service, and one of my favorites X-News (which fit the whole "eXtreme" everything era of the 90s).
While the second season is very similar to the first in many regards, one key change in this season was to add a host to each episode of the series. The first of these hosts is Christina Applegate. Other hosts of interest to TV fans are Neve Campbell, Joe Rogan, French Stewart, Andrea Martin, Tommy Davidson, Mark Curry, Adam Arkin, and David Faustino.
The episodes on the set seem to be uncut, but I'm not sure what the source is for the episodes. At the beginning of each episode, there is a brief promo for the episode (like a syndication promo), and once the episode begins, there is a TV rating logo (i.e. TV-14) in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. In any event, I don't think there is anything wrong with these episodes. Runtimes of the episodes, listed by the name of the guest host, are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. Christina Applegate (42:54)
2. Ice-T (42:54)
3. Kim Coles (42:54)
4. Jack Wagner (42:54)
5. Neve Campbell (42:56)
6. Kevin McDonald (42:55)
Disc 2:
7. Joe Rogan (42:55)
8. French Stewart (42:54)
9. Harry Connick, Jr. (42:55)
10. Andrea Martin (42:58)
11. Superbowl Special (42:56)
Disc 3:
12. Rodney Dangerfield (42:55)
13. Queen Latifah (42:54)
14. Tommy Davidson (42:55)
15. Bobcat Goldthwait (42:56)
16. Pauly Shore (42:55)
17. Thomas Calabro (42:55)
Disc 4:
18. Mark Curry (42:55)
19. Adam Arkin (42:56)
20. Ryan Stiles (42:54)
21. David Faustino (42:53)
22. LL Cool J (42:55)
The set comes packaged in a Viva case, with some of the more memorable characters featured inside of "bubbles" on the cover and even more characters featured inside of "bubbles" on the back. There is also a description of the season on the back. Inside, you'll find the four discs, which contain 5-6 episodes per disc (more on the problems from that will come a bit later). Inside the case, a listing of hosts and airdates for the episodes is included.
The menus on the set are very basic... in fact, there is only one menu screen on each disc. On the menu, there is a Play All option, a listing of episodes, and a series of rapidly changing snapshots of Alfred E. Neuman. The theme song continuously loops in the background.
I'm not really overly impressed with the video and audio quality of this set, and I think that it likely has to do with the fact that so many episodes were crammed on each disc. Six episodes of a series that originally aired in a one hour time slot is overkill to some extent, and compression--something that hasn't been an issue on many DVDs recently--does seem to be a problem here. There are no subtitles or closed-captioning.
The set has one special feature... sort of. At the beginning of each episode, a promo plays for the episode, which I'm guessing was used for syndication. Other than that, we have nothing else. This set seems like a great set to include interviews. What else are the actors really doing now?
I'm glad that Shout! decided to pick up this series and continue it on DVD, but I certainly hope that they go beyond the fifth season. I enjoyed this series on Fox (up until the last season or two), and in watching this season, I've come to realize that the series really had not quite warmed up just yet. Some of the best actors and actresses of the series have yet to come, including Alex Borstein (now better known for her Family Guy voice work), Will Sasso, Mo Collins, Aries Spears, Stephnie Wier, and of course Michael McDonald. The only people truly memorable from this season are Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson. That doesn't mean the rest were bad, it is just that they didn't have the opportunity to play the characters that many fans truly loved on the series. In any event, I'm glad that we've at least got a chance to see this series on DVD, and can't wait to see more.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Rob Lowe (Twitter), "Love: family, dogs, espresso from an IV, politics, story telling, sobriety, acting, music, glassy overhead conditions. Hate: decaf"
Claim to Fame: We'll admit: we're taking a slightly different approach to our Follow Me for this week. Of course, we all know that Lowe's claim to fame primarily comes from movies, such as St. Elmo's Fire. But in recent years, Lowe has become more of a TV actor, appearing in regular roles in The West Wing and Brothers & Sisters. Despite all of that success, many critics have proclaimed that one of his greatest roles has actually been his current sitcom role, where he plays Chris Traeger on the NBC series Parks & Recreation.
Why You Should Follow Him: I'll be the first to admit that I never would have imagined Lowe being such a great sitcom actor, but I actually have come to enjoy him and his role in Parks & Recreation. In a sense, it helped me discover (and want to know) more about him. While he doesn't Tweet every detail of his life, nor does he interact directly with fans all that much (we know some celebs who are very actively interacting with fans), he does seem to be a very interesting and dynamical person, and many of his Tweets are fun to read.
Pick of the Tweets: "Hmmm, I wonder why Netflix just posted a surprise profit report? #WestWing ???" (January 24, 2013)
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Good Wife Coming to Hallmark Channel in January 2014; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18, 2013)
CBS Corporation announced a unique multi-platform syndication model for The Good Wife, windowing the off-network rights for the series with distribution partners across subscription-video-on-demand services, a basic cable network (Hallmark Channel) and broadcast television stations (for weekend play). As part of an agreement with Amazon.com, the first three seasons of The Good Wife will be available on Amazon Prime Instant Video beginning now, with season four coming to Prime Instant Video later this year. All Prime Instant Videos are commercial-free and can be viewed at no additional cost by Prime members on Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other devices. In addition, as part of an expanded agreement with Hulu, previous seasons of The Good Wife will be available to Hulu Plus subscribers in September 2013.
Onto syndication, The Hallmark Channel, a brand long recognized for high-quality entertainment, has acquired the off-network cable rights to present The Good Wife on basic cable. Since its premiere in 2009, the unique drama, which combines a sophisticated legal franchise with family drama, has earned numerous awards including the AFI Award (2012) and the Peabody Award (2011), as well as Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Awards for lead actress Julianna Margulies. The series has also received numerous WGA nominations for its writing. The Hallmark Channel will begin running The Good Wife weekdays beginning January 2014, while they add reruns of comedy series The Middle this fall (2013). In addition, The Good Wife will be available to local television stations for a weekend broadcast syndication window beginning in September 2014. CBS Television Distribution has sold these rights to the CBS Television Stations as the flagship broadcast group and to stations of all affiliations, currently covering 85% of the country. The series is currently in its fourth season and is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Scott Free Productions. It hasn't been officially picked-up for a fifth season, but despite the lower ratings, they most certainly will, especially since they just did this major syndication deal.
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 March 18-22, 2013, 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, March 18, 2013
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Watch Selena on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Seth Green (Greg the Bunny/Four Kings) - Seth appears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Nick talks about his role on the show and what it’s like being married to actress and comedian, Megan Mullally, on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Ana co-hosts Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
- Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show) - From the ABC reality show that everyone is talking about, Splash, the beautiful Keshia Knight Pulliam stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show/Cosby/The Bill Cosby Show) - Catch the legendary Mr. Cosby on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Jenna Fischer (The Office) - Catch visits The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena continues to make the rounds on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- T.J. Miller (Carpoolers) - T.J. is a guest on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/That '80s Show) - Glenn appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Terry Crews (Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry guest co-hosts a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Tatyana Ali (Love That Girl!/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Tatyana is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross (Family Ties) - Emmy® Award winning actress Meredith Baxter and co-star Michael Gross share their experiences portraying one of TV's most beloved parents and reveal behind-the-scenes secrets from the show on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Kristen Schaal (30 Rock/Bob's Burgers/Flight of the Conchords) - Kristen appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Jennifer is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
- Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella opens up about how she has overcome the challenges of living with dyslexia on Marie at 12pm on Hallmark Channel.
- Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Watch Tina on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse visits The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Steve appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Charlie Sheen (Anger Management/Two and a Half Men/Spin City) - Tune in to see Charlie on a repeat of The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.
- Fran Drescher (Happily Divorced/The Nanny) - Fran visits Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
- Marilu Henner (Taxi) - Marilu co-hosts Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
- David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me) - Catch David on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - Amy is a guest on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Don Cheadle (The Golden Palace) - Don appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
NBC Moves Smash, Go On, & More Changes; Episodic Review: Parks & Recreation - "Bailout" Airing Tonight on NBC
NBC has announced a lot of changes for spring. First up, Smash will be moving to Saturdays at 9PM beginning April 6 through May 18. Smash's last Tuesday at 10pm airing will be on April 2, so there are three Tuesday airings left before it is delegated to Saturdays for its remaining seven episodes. NBC will be finishing up its Tuesday comedies in April as scheduled, but with The New Normal actually getting a two-episode finale from 9-10pm on April 2. It could be the last two episodes ever for this comedy. Meanwhile, Go On will air its final two episodes of the season on a special night and time on Thursdays, April 4 and 11, 2013 at 9:30pm, leading into new drama Hannibal at 10. NBC has not yet announced what will air at 9:30pm beginning April 18, but since it is only four weeks, NBC will likely air reruns of The Office. Don't forget the one-hour series finale of The Office is Thursday, May 16 at 9pm. Go On has two more Tuesdays at 9 airings left (March 19 and 26) before its two-week Thursday run. One more Thursday note, NBC will burn-off the remaining episodes of 1600 Penn quickly on March 21 and March 28 at a special time of 8:30pm and also its normal time of 9:30pm. Like The New Normal & Smash, this series has little chance of returning next season, but Go On has a 50/50 chance.
Replacing Smash essentially on Tuesdays will be new reality series Ready for Love, which will now air Tuesdays 9-11pm ET/PT beginning Tuesday, April 9 through Tuesday, May 28. The series was originally supposed to get a preview on Tuesday, March 26 and premiere on its normal night Sunday, March 31 from 8-10pm, but neither will now happen. Ready for Love will follow The Voice on Tuesdays, as that series will air in the Tuesdays at 8pm time period from March 26-June 11. The Voice also airs 8-10pm on Mondays from March 25-June 17. Onto Sundays, on March 31 and April 7 only, NBC will encore the previous week's Monday/Tuesday episodes of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT and 9-10pm ET/PT respectively into one-hour episodes of Celebrity Apprentice at 10. However, that series will now go back to two-hour episodes from April 14-May 19 from 9-11pm ET/PT following encores of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT. And onto Wednesdays, Whitney will now end a week earlier on Wednesday, March 27 with a two-episode season finale from 8-9pm. It was originally supposed to end its season on April 3, but now NBC will air Dateline in the hour beginning April 3 and not the planned move of Betty White's Off Their Rockers, as previously announced.
View a complete list of NBC spring changes in a list form. And stay with us for continued updates.
On the next...Parks & Recreation:
By: Skees
NBC's Thursday night comedy starring Amy Poehler airs Thursday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 14). In the episode airing tonight, "Bailout," Leslie (Amy Poehler) tries to help a local video store stay in business after the owner (guest star Jason Schwartzman) is hit by the bad economy. Chris (Rob Lowe) tries to give Tom (Aziz Ansari) some fatherly advice in dealing with a difficult employee (guest star Jenny Slate), while Ann (Rashida Jones) blackmails April (Aubrey Plaza) into being her friend.
In "Bailout," Pawnee's only independent video store is about to go the way of Blockbuster… gone. Leslie is determined to use her power on the city council to save this treasure at any cost, and in a battle against the Pawnee libertarians (who consider her actions to be a "bailout"), successfully manages to get the store declared a Pawnee landmark. Unfortunately, Leslie's hopes and dreams for the landmark are a bit crushed when she finds out that the store would rather use landmark status to become a porn video store (in opposition of her hopes that they'd rent films like Finding Nemo). Meanwhile, Jean-Ralphio's sister (guest star Jenny Slate) has come to take a job at Rent-a-Swag, but she is really making Tom's life absolutely miserable. And that isn't all: Ann is using every means possible to blackmail April into being her friend.
This is another great episode of the NBC Thursday night sitcom, which has slowly become my favorite sitcom on TV. This is the series at its best: Leslie trying to do good for the city (even if it really isn't a huge thing) and facing opposition from Ron Swanson and other libertarians… and as often happens, it doesn't work out so well for Leslie, even if she does like to look at the positive side. One of the best scenes happens to be during the city council meeting… if you follow sitcom star views on politics at all, you'll notice that one of those speaking in opposition of the landmark status says something that is almost identical to a statement made by Craig T. Nelson. The subplot of the episode about Tom dealing with Mona Lisa (Slate) was a little lacking in the sense that there wasn't a whole lot of development, but I really did like the Mona Lisa character and her relationship with Tom, and hope that we get to see more of her in future episode. A-
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Episodic Review: The Neighbors - "Sing Like a Larry Bird" Airing Tonight on ABC; CBS Season Finale Dates
On the next...The Neighbors:
By: Pavan
ABC's Wednesday night comedy starring Jami Gertz and Lenny Venito airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 13). It's a musical episode with Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken writing the songs! In the episode airing tonight, "Sing Like a Larry Bird," increasingly comfortable exploring the world outside of their gated community, the Bird-Kersees ignore the Weavers' concerns and decide to go to into the city to see a Broadway show. Inspired by the experience, Larry Bird (Simon Templeman) decides to put on a musical of his own, which goes well until Dick Butkus (Ian Patrick) literally missteps. Instead of going to Marty (Lenny Venito) and Debbie (Jami Gertz) for help (as they have done many times before), the Bird-Kersees risk exposing their true identities when they call 9-1-1.
Who needs Les Miserables, when we have the Bird-Kersees! This episode has it all--comedy, drama, romance, and musical numbers. And not every part of the episode is a musical scene, so it has a good mix of music and actual dialogue. I've got to say though that the musical numbers the Bird-Kersee family (aka the aliens) did were outstanding. They were Broadway style and quite frankly, hilarious as hell. I think the Bird-Kersees can definitely smack the cast of Glee! This is one of the top episodes of the series so far and every member of the cast had a lot do in this episode. The Weaver family (aka the humans) didn't sing, but that's OK because that wouldn't have made sense since the Bird-Kersees were the ones curious about Broadway. This episode is not just a musical as I mentioned, but we have so many pop culture references that I couldn't even keep a full list. Cats, Hugh Jackman, Glee, Annie, Jay-Z, The Voice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, ET, and Magic Mike are just some of the very cool references made on tonight's episode. The Voice scene was hilarious as Larry, Jackie and Dick were choosing who they wanted to be part of their musical. And the two big musical numbers in this episode just crushed it and made the episode even better. The actual storylines of the episode were hilarious, too, from Larry & Jackie wanting to see a Broadway show without Marty & Debbie knowing to the Weaver kids rebelling and doing whatever they please. And Reggie Jackson brings the romance with comedy and music, as he ponders between his girlfriend Giselle or Amber Weaver. This one is definitely worth watching not just once but at least twice. It's Les Miserables without all the boring stuff and lots of comedy...and that's how it should be! A-
The Neighbors is a good show! It had a very bad wrap for some reason before it even premiered. I think people forgot about shows like 3rd Rock from the Sun, as that show was very good and was critically praised and it had a similar premise. This series has gotten way better since the early episodes, especially the pilot, so you should definitely catch-up if you haven't seen it since the pilot or episode two. I had a feeling this show would last because it is very mainstream and fits the ABC family comedy brand very well. It's unique and fun every week. I think many people are realizing that now and now no one says this is a bad show. Ratings have been definitely better than anyone ever expected, while not great but it is consistent. I think it will be back for a second season and perhaps it will be a contender for a Friday slot, where I think it could deliver the same ratings as it is now on Wednesdays. After tonight, there are only two episodes left before the season finale. It's truly a shame that tonight's episode is surrounded by repeats on ABC Comedy Wednesday. But maybe that's a good thing because this is the must see show of the night with this musical episode. It has the center of attention tonight and it delivers big time! It's not only going to smack the cast of Glee, but all of its critics from the summer who didn't give this show a chance at all.
View behind the scenes from tonight's episode featuring the work of Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken:
CBS has announced season finale air dates that will include two-hour finales for Survivor: Caramoan - Fans Vs. Favorites, The Amazing Race, Criminal Minds and Elementary. The first finale will be on Sunday, April 28 at 9:00pm for The Good Wife. The other Sunday series will wrap on Sunday, May 5 with a two-hour finale for The Amazing Race from 8:00-10:00PM, followed by the season finale of The Mentalist at 10. CBS will dedicate Sunday, May 12 for the Survivor: Caramoan - Fans Vs. Favorites season finale from 8-10pm followed bu the live Reunion Show at 10. CBS has not announced what it will air on May 19 for the last Sunday of the TV season. Moving on to Thursday, May 9, the season finale of Two and a Half Men will air at 8:30 leading into the season finale of Person of Interest at 9. The other Thursday series will wrap a week later on May 16 with The Big Bang Theory at 8 (and probably a repeat at 8:30) leading into the two-hour season finale for freshman drama Elementary from 9-11pm. The Friday dramas will wrap-up on Friday, May 10 with Vegas at 9 and Blue Bloods at 10. The season finale of Undercover Boss will air a week later on Friday, May 17 at 8. CBS has not announced what will air 9-11pm on the last Friday of the season.
The Monday sitcom block will half wrap-up on Monday, May 13. The season finale of How I Met Your Mother will air at 8 and 2 Broke Girls at 9, while the other two sitcoms wrap up on the last Monday of the season on May 20 with Rules of Engagement at 8:30 and Mike & Molly at 9:30pm. Hawaii Five-0 will wrap up its season also on May 20 at 10pm. The CBS Tuesday drama line-up will all end their seasons a week early on Tuesday, May 14 with NCIS at 8, NCIS: Los Angeles at 9 and new drama Golden Boy at 10. And finally the Wednesday dramas will end on two separate weeks, with CSI on Wednesday, May 15 at 10 and a two-hour season finale for Criminal Minds from 9-11pm on May 22. No word on what will air at 8pm on both May 15 and 22, since Survivor wraps up its Wednesday airings on May 8. Stay with us for continued updates.
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, August 29
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Heartbreak and the Refuge of the Downtrodden" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie, Mandy and the family do their best to lift Connor’s spirits during a rough patch while Connor tries to figure out a plan for his life.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 24)
Saturday, August 29 and August 30
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) and Will Ferrell (The Hawk/The Office) - Amy and Will bond over their box office bomb on a repeat of The Weekend View on ABC News Live at 7:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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