Watching Sitcoms

From NBC:

NBC has ordered six one-hour episodes of “Thank God You’re Here,” a new improvisational comedy series from FremantleMedia North America, producers of “American Idol.”

Hosted by David Alan Grier (”In Living Color”), and presided over by judge Dave Foley (”News Radio”), each episode of “Thank God You’re Here” showcases the improvisational skills of a group of fearless celebrities as they compete in a battle of wits and laughter to outdo each other’s performance in various unexpected situations. The announcement was made today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

“This series is basically every adventurous performer’s dream and we think the viewers can vicariously enjoy how they respond to their unforeseen predicaments,” said Craig Plestis, Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment. “It has a daring, seat-of-your pants feel that’s proven to be a big hit in its original Australian version.”

Launched at MIP-TV in 2006, “Thank God You’re Here” has swiftly become the most popular comedy entertainment format in less than a year. FremantleMedia currently produces versions of the hit series in 10 territories, including The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Sweden, The UK, Portugal, Belgium, Norway, Israel, Denmark and Australia.

“This format has proven a comedic phenomenon in many countries both on-air and online, where clips from the show are frequent popular downloads,” says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Fremantle North America. “We’re very excited to be working with NBC, David Alan Grier and Dave Foley in bringing this highly-successful, irreverent comedy format to American audiences.”

Originated in Australia by Working Dog Productions, where the show earned blockbuster ratings and is now in its third season, “Thank God You’re Here” is based on a simple premise: challenge celebrity guests to enter a door into their own comedy sketch they know nothing about. Whether it’s an operating room, an Egyptian tomb, an executive boardroom, a far-flung starship or any other scenario, the only thing each celebrity can count on is their quick wit and a desperate greeting upon their arrival, “Thank God you’re here!”

At that point, each celebrity must individually improvise their way through a comedy scene along with a talented ensemble cast in front of judge Dave Foley and a ‘live’ studio audience. Jennifer Coolidge (”American Pie”), Bryan Cranston (”Malcolm in the Middle”), Joel McHale (”The Soup”) and Wayne Knight (”Seinfeld”) star in the pilot episode. Production on the remaining episodes is expected to resume in February.

This show sounds a bit like a game in “Who’s Line Is It Anyway”, but as that show is a riot, it could be a fun addition to the NBC Lineup. Plus, Dave Foley is a comic genius, so anything he is involved in has GOT to be good (don’t believe me? Watch Newsradio.).

NBC has decided to renew The Office and “My Name is Earl” for next year’s 2007/2008 season.

“The Office” is delivering a 4.2 rating, 11 share in 18-49 and 8.7 million viewers through the first 16 weeks of the 2006-07 season and has matched or built on its 18-49 lead-in from “The Office” with every original telecast this season. “The Office” has improved the Thursday 8:30-9 half-hour for NBC this season by 20 percent versus year-ago averages in 18-49.

“My Names Is Earl” is averaging a 4.0 rating, 11 share in 18-49 and 9.5 million viewers through the opening 16 weeks of the 2006-07 television season. “Earl” has improved the Thursday 8-8:30 p.m. half-hour for NBC this season by 38 percent versus year-ago results in 18-49.

In layman’s terms: Both shows are kicking butt in the ratings an NBC wants to keep them on the air. Why they have not yet renewed Scrubs and 30 Rock, I am not sure.

Fingers crossed!

Let’s face it, everyone who watches TV watches some sort of syndicated TV shows at some point in thier week. Usually it is during the 5 PM to 8 PM coming home from work/dinner time. I used to watch lots of shows in syndication as a kid. Those usually included shows like “What’s Happenin‘”, “That’s My Mama“, Welcome Back, Kotter”, “Laverne and Shirley” (which, for awhile was still on while it was in reruns), “Happy Days“(again, on while in reruns), “Three’s Company“, and all sorts of old shows like that.

These days, shows are sold into syndication as soon as they hit the 100 episode mark, if not sooner (usually reserved for hit shows). Every year at NAPTE (The National Association of Television Program Executives) has a convention in Vegas where all sorts of shows are sold into syndication by thier distributors and bought by various stations around the country. There are dramas, game shows, judge shows and of course, sitcoms!

For 2007, here are the shows that will be popping up in your neck of the woods:

Since I have only recently started watching Two and A Half Men, I am looking forward to that one in reruns, mostly because how much Malcolm In The MIddle can you watch? I am a little bit surprised TBS hasn’t picked it up to add to thier comedy block. However who knows what will happen come spring time when stations change thier lineups. Family Guy is great, but I have seen all of them between TBS, Fox & Adult Swim. I am not too familiar with the rest of them. I guess that is the nice thing about syndications, it allows you to discover a new show like it’s brand new!

In the 1970’s, Norman Lear ruled television. He created “All In The Family“, “The Jeffersons“, “Maude“, “Good Times“, “Sanford and Son” & “One Day At A Time“. Not a bad listing of shows. He had an iron grip on the Neilsen ratings and was CBS’s golden child.

In the mid 70’s, Lear had an idea for a spoof on soap operas. They called it “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and hired Louise Lasser to play the title role. The show’s title is repeated because the writers believed that everything on a soap is spoken twice. The show, like all of Lear’s shows, talked about many taboo topics such as sexual perversion, serial killers, and a lot of other topics that were way out there to be on tv in the 70’s (even on a Norman Lear show). When no major network would pick it up, it was sold into syndication and aired 5 nites a week. Most stations aired it way after the 11 PM news, but it turned into a ratings and critical hit (even earning Lasser an Emmy nomination!)

The show was part soap opera and part spoof. Let’s put it this way, to sum it up: she was the the pigtailed, gingham-frocked Ohio housewife who lived in a world where television commercials were as meaningful as personal experiences, and who tried to remain calm while her daughter was held hostage by a mass murderer, her husband was impotent, her father disappeared, and her best friend was paralyzed. Unlike “Soap”, that played itself more like a sitcom, MHMH did not have a studio audience and had a lot of those dramatic soap opera closeups that were so very popular on soaps in the 70’s.

After 325 episodes, and her character having a nervous breakdown on a television talk show, Louise Lasser decided to leave the show. She has been reported as saying that people were only recognizing her as the title character and not as an actress. I suppose she did not want to be typecast. She went on to do a ton of guest roles and currently teaches acting at NYU.

MHMH also spun off 3 shows: “Fernwood 2Nite” (a less then serious talk show spoof that stars Fred Willard and Martin Mull), “Forever Fernwood” (which was MHMH after Louise left and it also ran about a year) and “America 2Nite”. Occasionally these shows pop up on TVLand.

As for MHMH, there was a videocassette release years ago, but besides that, there has not been any real home releases of the show. UNTIL NOW. Sony has announced that on March 27 they will be releasing Volume One of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman!

Congrats to Alec Baldwin for his Golden Globe win in the category of “Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy”.

For tose of you who do not watch “30 Rock”, the how stars Alec, Tina Fey & Tracey Morgan and is a peek at the backstage goings on at a sketch comedy show. Alec’s character is hilarious as the deadpan Jack Donaghey, the head of the network, who takes a weird liking to the show and is always getting involved where, well, he shouldn’t. The man OWNS the deadpan delivery.

There are a large number of people who seem to think that Steve Carrell should have won for his character Michael Scott from “The Office”. While I agree, Steve is hilarious, the fact is that Alec, in my opinion, plays crazy better in this role. With Jack, you never know which direction he is coming from, and it is always funny. With Michael, it’s not always funny, sometimes they have him say things that are just uncomfortable. I like to laugh, not squirm for 30 minutes. Maybe that is just me. I don’t know.

I LOVE The Dick Van Dyke Show.
I LOVE Carl Reiner as Alan Brady.
I LOVE the episode where Laura accidentally lets it slip on national tv that Alan Brady is bald.
The episode is called “Coast To Coast Big Mouth”.
This is the great scene where Laura decides to go talk to Alan after her big mistake.
Enjoy!

Two of HBO’s best shows are finally letting us in on their premiere dates!

The Sopranos, coming back for the second part of their sixth and final season with 9 episodes, is coming back Sunday, April 8 @ 9 PM. Following that at 10 PM is the second, 8 episode season of Entourage.

The Sopranos recently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Edie Falco). Entourage recently received two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jeremy Piven).

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has said that “Scrubs will be back for a seventh season either on NBC or ABC.”.

You see, Scrubs airs on NBC but is owned by Touchstone, which is a subsidiary of ABC/Disney. So, While NBC makes some money, ABC/Disney makes a lot of money (think of the syndication sales). However, apparently NBC is really happy with thier numbers (I am sure the syndicated reruns are helping the show pull in new viewers), and wants them to keep on keeping on.

While I think this season of Scrubs isn’t quite as strong as the previous years, it is still head and shoulders above the rest of the wasteland of shows out there. Plus, the lineup of thursday nite shows puts forth the idea that quirky, well written shows have a place in the world! Too bad it is too late for Arrested Development.
Sigh.

Jennifer Saunders is best known here in the U.S as Edina Monsoon, half of the wacky duo on Absolutely Fabulous that was completed by Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone. She has sort of disappeared from our screen for awhile but thankfully she is returning in not one but TWO new series!

First up is “Clatterford” (known in the U.K as “Jam and Jerusalem”), a 7 episode black comedy which sees Saunders reunited with Ab Fab partner in crime Joanna Lumley. For the ladies of the town of Clatterford, a small English country town, life in their book club is peaceful and orderly until the arrival of a new member (Waking the Dead’s Sue Johnston), freshly widowed, casts their tranquil little group into gossip. Saunders will play Caroline, a notorious busy-body, while Lumley will play a mischief-making eccentric named Delilah Stagg. Dawn French (a favorite of mine from The Vicar Of Dibley) also stars! It comes to BBC America on March 9 @ 9 Pm ET.

The other show is entitled “The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle“, starring Saunders and Miranda Richardson in a wacky behind the scenes look at a talk show. Saunders is Vivienne Vyle, a much beloved host of a live television therapy show, while Richardson plays her ambitious producer Helena. It should pop up on BBC America later on in the year. I, personally, can’t wait!

Saunders is known for her hilarious, quality work, whether it was with Dawn French in “French and Saunders”, in “Ab Fab” or many other projects she has been involved with. Keep an eye out for this, you will probably be howling with laughter very soon!

It looks like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and the estate of Dana Plato are going to be collecting some residuals! Nick@Nite has announced yet another show to thier lineup that makes anyone who grew up in the 80’s feel old: Growing Pains.

For those of you who blocked it out, here is a recap.
Growing Pains followed the goings on of The Seavers: Dad Jason (a stay at home dad who was a stay at home therapist played by Alan Thicke), Mom Maggie (a TV Journalist played by Joanna Kerns), Older son Mike (the loveable troublemaker and teenage heart throb played by Kirk Cameron), Daughter Carol (the smart dorky one who had fat jokes lobbed at her every 5 minutes, played by Tracey Gold) and younger son Ben (bottomless pit of an eater and unwitting partner in trouble with Mike played by Jeremy Miller). The show was fairly lightweight but a great example of 80’s fluffy fun. In the later years, they had another kid (Chrissie, aged 3 years and played by Ashely Johnson, who went on to do lots of cartoon voiceover work) and Luke, a homeless kid Mike brings in, played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

The show actually was very meta in many episodes, referencing itself and various famous people as well as the lineup it was in on Tuesday nites on ABC (along with Who’s The Boss (who aired it’s last episode the same nite as Growing Pains)and Moonlighting). It also did Halloween episodes very much in the vein of Roseanne and The Simpsons.

The show kicks off it’s premiere on Nick@Nite on January 21 with an all nite 9 episode marathon from 9 PM to 1:30 am (and then it repeats). On Monday, Jan. 22nd, the show hits it’s regular timeslot of 9 & 9:30 PM Mon-Fri & Fri & Sat at 10:30 PM & Sun. at 9:30 PM.

That’s a whole lot of 80’s nostalgia.
I mean really, can you beat a show that had a regular character called Boner?
I think not!

News From The Television Critic’s Association (TCA):

VH1 has greenlighted new scripted half-hour comedy I Hate My 30s. VH1’s picked up eight episodes of the show, which uses the backdrop of a doctor’s office to address issues faced by twentysomethings reluctantly entering their 30s.

The show was developed by VH1 and Drama 3/4, a group of comedy show/short film producers. It is slated for spring, 2007.

thanks to B&C Magazine

Congrats to Alec Baldwin for winning “Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy” tonite at The Golden Globes!

For those of you under a rock, Alec Baldwin stars with Tina Fey and Tracey Morgan in the NBC show “30 Rock”. The show is a backstage look at a half hour sketch comedy show. Baldwin plays Jack Donaghee, a wacko who is a huge higherup (right around president) at NBC who takes a special liking to the show and the goings on. He is HILARIOUS. Literally, every time the guy opens his mouth, something funny comes out of it. The man owns the deadpan delivery.

Congratulations to Baldwin and the writers of 30 Rock that give him the funny.
If you have not checked out 30 Rock yet, it comes on at 9:30 PM on thursday nites after Scrubs and before ER.

WKRP In Cincinnati is one of my all time favorite shows. Well written, interesting topics (a favorite of mine is the episode involving kids getting killed at a Who concert that has festival seating and the subsequent fallout with promoters and the industry in general as well as Mr. Carlson’s horrified reaction), great acting and a lot of overall silliness. My uncle is a wedding/party type DJ and a music freak so I grew up with all kinds of music being played whenever I wasn’t glued to the television. Needless to say, to watch a show that glued the two things I loved the most together, tv and music, I was hooked. I eventually got into college radio and now I manage a band and work in the music industry. All of that was sparked by this show.

Everyone I come in contact with loves this show. Especially the hilarious Thanksgiving episode, “Turkeys Away”, when Carlson gives the deadpan reading of “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”. It would seem that a dvd release of this show would be a slam dunk. However, one problem remained.

In the series, since they obviously worked at a radio station, they used a lot of the music of the time. These days, when you use music, you get a release that covers not only the series but any sort of other release like a dvd set. Since VCR’s were barely out at that point, no one thought that anyone would be interested in buying television shows for home use! When it came time for shows to start coming out, getting all those releases proved to be a giant pain in the you-know-where, due to the ridiculous prices to be paid for the rights. MTM (the show is now owned by 20th Century Fox) decided at one point to replace all the music with generic songs for syndication but it never really worked.

Luckily, they have solved this problem, kept almost all of the old music and I am happy to announce the street date of the first season of WKRP: April 3!

The set will include:

• All 22 episodes (561 minutes) from the first season INCLUDING that Thanksgiving episode on 3 two sided discs
• Commentary by creator Hugh Wilson and cast for the Pilot episode (Part One)
• “Don’t Touch That Dial- The Making Of WKRP”
• “Turning A Turkey Into A Classic”
• “Doctor Johnny Fever and I Am Burning Up In Here

The set will retail for $39.98.

Thanks to TVShowsOnDvd.com!

We have some new details about the Complete Brady Bunch DVD Set!
(thanks to TVShowsonDVD.com)

The set is a whopping 21 discs and will contain:

The Very Brady Christmas TV Movie
The Brady 500 (pilot from the 90’s TV show)
Episodes from “The Brady Kids” cartoon

And yes, it really is shag on the box!

You know, it really warms my heart to know that the companies out there are putting some time and effort into releasing quality box sets these days.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to work on a sitcom and what rehearsals are like, then this is your lucky day! CBS has decided to broadcast the table read (where the cast and writers sit around a table and literally read thru the script) and run thru (where they, yes, run thru the script literally. Basically it is a full rehearsal) for “The Class”.

The table read is slated for 11 am on Monday (PST, which is about 3-ish on the east coast) and the run thru is 1 PM (about 4-ish on the east coast) on Jan 17. You can catch all the action at www.theclasstv.com. The episode is entitled “The Class Springs A Leak” and it is scheduled to air Feb. 19.

While I find this show to be extremely funny at times, the writing smacks of Friends dialogue (David Crane could be to blame) and there are way too many cast members to keep track of. Getting rid of the tv reporter (Holly Ellenbogen) and her “gay on the outside & gay on the inside but not to his wife” husband is annoying. The funniest part about the two of them is the daughter named Oprah. Knowing the suburbs of Philly they are supposed to be in, the name actually makes sense. But I digress. Paring the cast down would work better. I hope they get that memo.

Also did you know that Jason Ritter (Ethan) is John Ritter’s son? I think his dad would have really enjoyed the work he is doing on this show.

I am not sure what is going to happen but obviously CBS has a lot of faith in the show since it won Favorite New TV Comedy at the People’s Choice Awards.