WGN America Makes Changes to Outta Sight Retro Night, Newhart Thanksgiving Marathon; TNT Picks-Up Mentalist, USA Picks-Up NCIS: LA

WGN America is making some changes starting the week of Nov. 23. On weekdays, the only change will be Nash Bridges returning to the weekday line-up, airing weekdays at 12 noon ET replacing one of the In the Heat of the Night episodes, which will remain weekdays at 11am ET.
Then starting Sunday, Nov. 29, the Sunday block Outta Sight Retro Night will get some schedule changes. The 6pm ET hour will now be Becker instead of ALF. Cosby Show, Newhart, Barney Miller remain in their 7pm-10pm ET hours, followed by a news break at 10pm ET. After the news, Cheers is still on during the 11pm ET hour, but then after that we have some changes. ALF moves to the 12 midnight hour, replacing Bewitched and more Barney Miller will air in the 1am hour replacing I Dream of Jeannie. It is not a big deal for Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie to be removed from Sundays, because they already air weekday afternoons. So with all of these schedule changes, nothing is being removed totally...which is good!
And finally, this Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009) spend the holiday once again with Newhart! WGN America will air a Newhart marathon from 2:30pm-8pm ET! For the second consecutive Thanksgiving WGN America is giving a nice Newhart marathon on Thanksgiving. Episodes airing this year in the marathon are (in order of airing): "Vermont Day," "Miss Stephanie," "A Hunting We Will Go," "Candidate Larry," "Will the Real Dick Loudon Please Shut Up," "Co-Hostess Twinkie," "Camp Stephanie," "The Gleeless Club," "The Nice Man Cometh," "Don't Rain on My Parade," and "Thanksgiving for the Memories."
Stay with us in the coming weeks as we tell you what WGN America has planned for Christmas and New Year's! I'll give you a hint, it's going to be good...as usual with them!

TNT has acquired exclusive syndication rights to The Mentalist from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, commencing in Fall 2012. Currently in its second season on CBS, The Mentalist has emerged as one of the hottest shows on broadcast television. The series will begin running weekly on the cable network in Fall 2011, before getting the full 5-days a week treatment in Fall 2012.
USA Network has acquired the exclusive off-network rights to the CBS Television Distribution's drama NCIS: Los Angeles, the newest addition to the NCIS franchise. Under the agreement, USA Network will have access to weekly early exhibitions from season one beginning September 2011 and the right to start stripping the series weekdays in September 2013. The original NCIS on USA Network is the #1 "off-network" series on cable for 2009 to date averaging nearly 3.5million total viewers in Primetime.

AmericanLife Network Celebates Christmas with Classics like Mr. Belvedere; Animated Classics on Jaroo.com

This December every weekday in the 5pm hour on AmericanLife TV they will have classic Christmas episodes of many classics all month long! The holiday fun begins Monday, November 30 and lasts every weekday through Thursday, December 24 all in the 5pm hour. Classics in order of airing are Lou Grant, The Big Valley, WKRP In Cincinnat, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Remington Steele, Trapper John M.D., Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Mr. Belvedere! Yes, Mr. Belvedere makes an appearance on TV for the first time in years! Mark your china...err calendars for Thursday, December 17 at 5pm & 5:30pm for all two Christmas Mr. Belvedere episodes! They originally didn't have Mr. Belvedere and Ghost and Mrs. Muir on the holiday schedule, as they just added it...but it is a good thing they did! They originally had a Phyllis Christmas episode on the schedule, but just removed it. Hopefully they change their mind and air it. Most of these series are from 20th Century Fox, so I wish they would air some holiday episodes of other series as well from their library. Hooperman starring John Ritter would be great to see! I know Small Wonder didn't have a Christmas episode, but anything to see that show again!
Elsewhere on ALN December 2009, there are no regular schedule changes...but we have many holiday specials other than the 5pm weekday hour. Among the specials are Christmas Music Specials, Skating Specials, and movies such as New Adventures Of Heidi, Christmas Without Snow, Christmas at Cadillac Jack's and Love's Pure Light.
View episode info for the ALN Holiday episodes for the month! If there are any changes, we'll let you know!

Jaroo.com has launched with one of the largest selections of full-length episodes of popular kids television programming and movies, both current and classic. The new free premium video destination for kids of all ages will initially offer over 50 popular TV series with more than 500 episodes available on-demand, any time, making entertaining your child or inner-child just a simple click away. Full episodes of such longtime favorites as Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Johnny Test, Super Mario Bros., Zelda and Madeline as well as the exclusive U.S. premiere of Mona the Vampire are available on Jaroo.com. Additional shows include Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Horseland, Liberty's Kids and live-action favorite, Cake, plus many more. New episodes and shows will be added daily, with over 2,000 episodes offered over the next three months to ensure Jaroo.com will always remain fresh.
All of the series are from Cookie Jar Entertainment. Cookie Jar Group is a global children's entertainment, consumer products and education company dedicated to excellence. Through Cookie Jar Entertainment, the company is a leader in the creation, production, marketing and licensing of evergreen character brands that appeal to kids and families worldwide. Cookie Jar Entertainment's library of nearly 6,000 half-hour episodes features some of the world's most recognizable brands, including Dennis the Menace, Heathcliff, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, The Doodlebops, Arthur and Johnny Test.
Let's hope Dennis the Menace (80s animated series) and Heathcliff end up on Jaroo.com very soon! Head on over to Jaroo.com right now to watch stuff like Inspector Gadget and the animated movie Inspector Gadget's Last Case!

TV One December 2009 Highlights; Accidentally on Purpose Gets More Episodes

This December on TV One, they have holiday stunts, special marathons, and more! We'll only cover the sitcom/TV series events, like usual. First up, on Saturday, December 12 beginning at 12 Noon through 8pm, TV One keeps with the Holiday Season Spirit as they air a Holiday Sitcom Marathon consisting of Christmas-themed episodes of favorite TV One comedies Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Hughleys, Amen, and Sanford & Son.
Beginning on Monday, December 14, TV One presents a Lincoln Heights - "Best Of Season 2" week-long event. The series is an original ABC Family series, but TV One is once again airing some repeats. The Sutton family is back for another stunt week on TV One...which starts out with a race riot at the high school that spills out into streets where violence catches up to Eddie, who shoots a boy who he thought shot at him. Join the Sutton Family as they must deal with life on the hard edge confronting such issues as racial violence, gangs, family issues, and an unexpected tragic event. Episodes in this special stunt week air Monday-Friday the week of Dec. 13 only at 9pm and 10pm with encore airings at 1am & 2am.
On Saturday, December 19 beginning at 2pm through 12am (encores until 6am), TV One keeps with the Holiday Season Spirit as they air another Holiday Sitcom Marathon consisting of Christmas-themed episodes of favorite TV One comedies Martin, All of Us, Eve, The PJs, For Your Love, Where I Live, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Half & Half, and Living Single.
Then beginning on Monday, December 21 and continuing through Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24), TV One presents a Christmas Comedy Countdown from 7pm to 11pm each night showcasing Yuletide episodes of your favorite TV One sitcoms leading up to Christmas. The Holiday countdown begins each night with Christmas episodes of Martin at 7pm followed by Good Times at 7:30pm. The 8pm to 11pm Christmas Comedies are in blocks. On Monday we get Martin & Living Single, on Tuesday we get Good Times & Amen, on Wednesday it is The Jeffersons & Cedric The Entertainer Presents and on Thursday we get All of Us & Eve on Christmas Eve.
And finally on Friday, January 1 (New Years Day) beginning at 9am through 8pm (encores until 6am), ring in your New Year in 2010 with Martin Payne as TV One presents the "Martin: It's All Love - New Years Day Marathon." Join Martin along with Gina, Tommy, Pam, and Cole as love is the theme of the day with the thin line between love and hate growing ever so closer in the world of Martin.

CBS has ordered an additional five episodes of its freshman comedy Accidentally on Purpose, bringing its season order to 18. Accidentally on Purpose is averaging 8.04 million viewers, 3.1/7 rating/share in adults 18-49 and 3.7/8 rating/share in adults 25-54 in its Monday (8:30PM) time period, according to Nielsen most current ratings (not counting the repeat on Oct. 26).
This Monday's episode did a decent 8.09 million, 3.1/8 rating/share in adults 18-49, and a 3.7/8 rating/share in adults 25-54, right on par with its season average. However, it was slightly off from its previous all-new episode on Oct. 19 of 8.26 million, 3.3/8 rating/share in adults 18-49, and a 3.7/9 rating/share in adults 25-54.

TV Land December 2009 Includes 10th Annual Merrython; TNT Picks-Up Southland

This December on TV Land there are not many changes to the regular schedule, but of course we have the 10th Annual Merrython coming up filled with holiday episodes of all your TV Land favorites! But first, TV Land original series Make My Day returns Wednesday, December 2. It was pulled from the schedule in August but now will be burned-off with three weeks of episodes in the 10pm & 10:30pm half-hours. Amazing dreams really do come true when TV Land returns its new original comedic hidden camera series Make My Day on Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT on TV Land PRIME. The 30-minute series executive produced by Michael Davies provides an exciting window into the eventful day of an unsuspecting and deserving participant as hidden cameras capture the weird coincidences, extraordinary situations and surprise celebrity appearances that occur for them over the course of a seemingly "normal" day.
Kick start the holiday season with TV Land's 10th Annual Merrython on Sunday, December 13! TV Land delivers holiday cheer to our viewers during this all day marathon featuring holiday-themed episodes from classic series like Andy Griffith, All in the Family, Brady Bunch, Three's Company, Sanford & Son and Beverly Hillbillies together with modern favorites from Roseanne, 3rd Rock and The Cosby Show. Grab the eggnog, tune in with loved ones, and celebrate the holiday season with TV Land! It's three days of holiday magic on Sunday, December 13, 2009 from 6am-6am,
Thursday, December 24 from 8pm-6am and continues Friday, December 25 from 9am-9pm!
Saturday classic marathons continue in December with big blocks of Sanford & Son, Good Times, and Beverly Hillbillies. And the Friday night PRIME movies for the month are The Pelican Brief, Top Gun, and Planes Trains & Automobiles. Encore showings on weekends are of Crocodile Dundee II and City Slickers.
View the FULL TV Land December 2009 highlights with full Merrython details!

TNT has picked up the critically acclaimed series Southland, closing a deal with Warner Bros. Television that will bring the drama from Emmy-winning producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) to the network in January. TNT has obtained exclusive rights to air all six episodes that have been shot for the second season, as well as the seven episodes from the series' first season. Southland will air on TNT Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), beginning with the very first episode of the series on Jan. 12. Southland aired on NBC in the first season and they picked up a second season but then decided to cancel it before it even launched its second season. It is unclear right now if TNT will make more than the 6 episodes produced for season two. It will depend on ratings of the first season and the new second season.
As of now TNT will air the series following repeats of Law & Order. TNT will give it a lot promos though on their Monday night original block of The Closer and Men of a Certain Age.

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas 2009 Edition; Ally McBeal Two-Part Reunion on ABC's GMA

A few weeks ago we highlighted ABC Family's Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas for 2009, but now we have the full 25 Days of Christmas schedule for 2009 that starts Tuesday, December 1, 2009! On that night the holiday fun begins with the classic animated special The Year Without a Santa Claus at 7pm followed by the basic cable premiere of The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause with a double premiere at 8pm and 10pm. The next night we have a double airing of Larry the Cable Guy starring Jason Lee at 7pm and 9pm. What Christmas would it be now without The Polar Express? ABC Family will air it on Dc. 3 at 6pm and 8:30pm. Other holiday movies include Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Richie Rich's Christmas Wish, The Dog Who Saved Christmas, Home Alone 3, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, A Dennis the Menace Christmas, Naughty or Nice, Jack Frost, Holiday in Handcuffs, The Santa Clause 2, A Carol Christmas, Eloise at Christmastime, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Jingle All the Way, A Very Brady Christmas, The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, Snow, Snow 2 Brain Freeze, Santa Baby, and the original movie premiere of Santa Baby 2 Christmas Maybe.
We also have many many specials such as Frosty's Winter Wonderland, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Cranberry Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too, A Miser Brothers' Christmas, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, The Little Drummer Boy Book II, Pinocchio's Christmas, Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July, A Garfield Christmas, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, Gotta Catch Santa Claus, and the ABC Family premieres of A Flintstone Christmas, The Little Rascals Christmas Special, Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation, and Disney Prep and Landing. We also get holiday episodes of series like Full House and AFV.
See the full schedule for the Countdown (Nov. 10-30) and the actual 25 Days of Christmas (Dec. 1-25).
Other ABC Family December 2009 highlights includes an America's Funniest Home Videos marathon on New Year's Eve from 3pm-11pm, as we close out 2009 with laughs!

There will be no searching for your soul this week, because we have an Ally McBeal reunion! The Ally McBeal Reunion is airing as a two-part special on ABC's Good Morning America today (Monday, Nov. 2) & tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 3) during the 8:00 AM hour. Join David E. Kelly, Calista Flockhart, Gil Bellows, Peter MacNicol, Greg Germann, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Jane Krakowski, Lisa Nicole Carson and Vonda Shepard as they reminisce to Tom Bergeron about those short skirts, Fishisms, that dancing baby and more!
View an image of the cast reunited. And if you missed today's interview, view it right here!
And as a reminder, Ally McBeal: The Complete Series and Ally McBeal: The Complete First Season are both now available on DVD...order it today!
Tune in tomorrow morning for part two of the reunion! Baby...yeah...oh yeah!

Week 6 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 6 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thurs finals):

Households: #1. Fox 8.7/13.6; #2. CBS 7.1/11.2; #3. ABC 6.8/10.8; #4. NBC 4.0/6.4; #5. The CW 1.5/2.3
Total Viewers: #1. Fox 14.1 million; #2. CBS 11.21 million; #3. ABC 10.75 million; #4. NBC 6.49 million; #5. The CW 2.37 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 4.6/12.2; #2. ABC 3.0/7.9; #3. CBS 2.8/7.2; #4. NBC 2.4/6.2; #5. The CW 1.1/2.9

Week 6 (Oct. 26-Nov. 1) Analysis: For week 6 we have Fox on top through the first four days in all categories thanks to the World Series. And it will remain that way after tonight when the week is over, too, with NFL overrun and more World Series action. Through the first four days in week 6 Fox has the lead everywhere, with CBS and ABC battling it out for second, right now CBS is second in HH/viewers, while ABC is second in 18-49. NBC is back in fourth everywhere as usual and there is no NFL coming to save the week tonight. Last week, week 5, CBS won the week in HH/viewers, while Fox took 18-49. It was the other way around with Fox second in HH/viewers, and CBS second in 18-49. ABC was third in all categories, though only .1 behind CBS for second in 18-49. NBC was fourth in all categories, but only .1 behind ABC for third in 18-49 (say thank you NFL!).
On Monday it was all ABC, as CBS was in repeats and Fox had no House. A two-hour Dancing with the Stars won the total viewer race with 17.38 million for ABC, up from the previous week. An all-new Castle followed with a solid 9.99 million, and up again from the previous week in 18-49! This is the most consistent show on network TV. Next up was CBS with its comedies and CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother repeat started it off with 6.94 million, OK for a repeat for a CBS Monday comedy and Accidentally on Purpose followed with its first repeat ever doing 5.89 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, not good. Two and a Half Men followed and was also a repeat doing 11.41 million which is good for a repeat, and The Big Bang Theory followed with a repeat and did a nice 10.85 million, when it was airing at 8pm...this would be GREAT for an all-new episode. Shows how much the show has grown at 9:30. The show also did a 3.8 18-49 rating for a repeat, excellent. A repeat episode of CSI: Miami did 11.52 million, not bad at all. Fox didn't have House but it had a special Top 20 special of So You Think You Can Dance which only attracted 5.85 million. A new episode of Lie to Me followed and did 6.33 million, a season low. NBC was next with Heroes doing 5.72 million, exactly the same from the previous week. A new episode of Trauma followed and did only 5.77 million and only a 1.9 A18-49 rating, but both up some from the previous week though. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.7 million, down a bit from previous week. The CW on Mondays has been a struggle so far, with One Tree Hill doing only 2.67 million and Gossip Girl at an even worse 2.31 million...but both up some week-to-week.
On Tuesday, CBS was in control as usual, but they were repeats so ABC was much closer. CBS had the always reliable NCIS opening the night off with 16.7 million for a repeat, don't know how. A repeat episode of NCIS: Los Angeles was next and did 11.09 million, not bad at all, but could be better with that huge lead-in. And finally CBS aired a repeat of The Good Wife and did 9.34 million, better retention than the lead-in did with its lead-in. ABC was second with the annual showing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown/You're Elected, Charlie Brown doing 8.8 million. Then it was Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 15.2 million, up some week-to-week as we said goodbye to Louie Vitto and Melissa Joan Hart. ABC followed with a new episode of the forgotten doing 8.26 million, up nearly a million week-to-week. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser 2-hour show doing 9.67 million, down a tad from previous week, followed by the The Jay Leno Show at 6.06 million, which was up some from previous week. Fox aired So You Think You Can Dance for two-hours and did only 6.47 million. The CW was next with repeats...as 90210 did 1.26 million, followed by a repeat of dud Melrose Place at an even worse 770,000 viewers. I know it was a repeat, but still...
Wednesday it was Fox on top by a big margin thanks to the World Series. Fox did 19.51 million for the entire game, and 19.66 million in primetime for it. Excellent game one numbers. CBS started slow with Old Christine repeat doing 6.24 million, which was not too far from original levels, followed by Gary Unmarried repeat at 5.89 million. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was a repeat and did 9.89 million which seems below normal, with CSI: NY repeat doing 9.46 million, repeats were affected by World Series, I guess. ABC started the 8pm hour with an edited version of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, as Hank was preempted. Brown did 6.0 million an a 2.0 18-49 rating, better than the previous week's Hank that did 5.78 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating. The Middle did was up slightly week-to-week in 18-40 going from a 2.0 to 2.2 18-49 rating, and an average 6.49 million. New episodes of the hilarious sitcoms Modern Family and Cougar Town both did well again with 9.33 and 7.54 million, both up some from previous week. The A18-49 ratings for both were more telling doing 3.7 and 3.2. At 10pm Eastwick did 5.02 million, up though from previous week, which was a series low. Lindsay Price again was good. NBC opened the night with a new animated special instead of Mercy as Monsters vs. Aliens did 6.96 million and a repeat followed with only 5.54 million, Mercy does better overall but this hour was slightly improved in 18-49 this week. Law & Order: SVU followed and did 8.24 million, down a million or so from previous week. Looks like World Series affected it. At 10pm NBC aired The Jay Leno Show of course at just 5.03 million, down some week-to-week. Fox will return So You Think You Can Dance and Glee after the World Series is over. The CW had its usual showing of Top Model at 3.51 million, up from previous week and a repeat of Vampire Diaries followed with 1.3 million, which is better than the dud Melrose Place.
Thursday it was Fox on top with World Series action, but CBS and ABC were competitive on this first night of November 2009 sweep. The World Series Game #2 did 18.9 million overall and 18.95 million in primetime. Excellent, as the Yankees evened the series at 1. ABC opened the night with FLASHFORWARD doing 8.92 million down nearly a million from previous week as the World Series might have affected it. Dominc Monaghan was great and mysterious. A new Grey's Anatomy followed with 13.74 million and a great 5.2 A18-49 rating, both down from previous week due to World Series. Give Dempsey the Emmy for that episode! And a new episode of Private Practice did a solid 9.16 million and a first place at 10pm 3.6 A18-49 rating, both down some week-to-week. CBS opened with Survivor: Samoa at 12.19 million and a 3.7 A18-49 rating, both down some from previous week. A new episode of CSI followed with 15.24 million, while The Mentalist was also new and did a better 15.53 million. Fox will return Bones and Fringe after the World Series is over with. NBC was next with Community at 8pm doing 5.32 million up some from previous week, followed by sitcom dud Parks & Recreation at only 4.8 million, down some week-to-week. At 9pm, The Office did 8.21 million and a solid 4.2 18-49 rating, both down a bit week-to-week. A new episode of 30 Rock did 6.1 million, down some from the previous week. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 4.41 million, down again week-to-week. The CW's only consistent player so far is Vampire Diaries and did a great 4.18 million, followed by a new Supernatural at 2.92 million, while that is good, it could be better considering the lead-in.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with their dramas as usual. NBC was good with Dateline at 9 and 20/20 was solid at 10pm for ABC.
Saturday numbers had Fox win with World Series game 3 coverage, despite a 80 minute rain delay. The Yankees took a 2 game to 1 lead. ABC was next with College Football, while NBC was dead last with the Notre Dame game.
Tonight the full ABC Sunday line-up is airing (AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters), look for solid numbers as usual despite the World Series. NBC doesn't have NFL tonight, so look for it to be dead last tonight by a wide margin. CBS has its usual players, but Three Rivers will be slaughtered again, as the cancelation click is ticking...why is it on for Sweeps? Fox has NFL overrun leading into Game 4 of the MLB World Series, so expect Fox to win the night in everything quite easily.
As for week 6, Fox will win in everything thanks to World Series. Look for CBS in second in HH/viewers and ABC second in 18-49. CBS will likely be third in 18-49, with ABC third in HH/viewers. NBC will be fourth in all categories and badly due to no NFL. Look for the premiere of V this Tuesday at 8 on ABC! Syfy is airing the original mini-series today, followed by V: The Final Battle, and all day Monday and Tuesday will be episodes from the '80s V series. Cool!

Week 6 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 5-- October 19-25)

• Brothers (Fox) - preempted for NFL/MLB ALCS.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted for MLB ALCS.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted for MLB ALCS.
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted for MLB ALCS.
• American Dad (Fox) - preempted for MLB ALCS.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 6.94 million, not too bad for a repeat.
• Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 5.89 million for a repeat, not too good...
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.41 million for a repeat, and still easily the best overall for sitcoms.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 10.85 million for a repeat. Last season everyone would have been ecstatic for it to get that in new episodes!

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Repeat did 6.24 million, that is pretty close to original levels from the previous week.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Repeat did 5.89 million...could be better.
• Hank (ABC) - preempted. Look for the Thanksgiving episode this week, possibly its last airing?
• The Middle (ABC) - 6.49 million and a 2.2 18-49. Brick and Sue are such great characters!
• Modern Family (ABC) - Another hilarious episode did 9.33 million and a nice 3.7 18-49 rating, both up week-to-week.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A new episode did 7.54 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, both also up from previous week.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - New episode did 5.32 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. Both up week-to-week a bit.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - This show did terrible doing only 4.8 million and just a 2.0 A18-49 rating, both down some from previous week.
• The Office (NBC) - 8.21 million for a new episode, down from the previous week. In 18-49 it did a 4.2 rating, also down some.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode did 6.1 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating. Down week-to-week.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Fox aired a quick repeat during the rain delay of the World Series at about 8:40pm ET. Prelim numbers show 7.44 million.
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) are no sitcoms, as Fox's animated comedies are preempted for NFL/World Series action.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, The Office, & Cougar Town were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Middle, 30 Rock) or just plain old terrible (such as Accidentally on Purpose, Parks & Recreation).

Blog DVD Review: Battlestar Galactica - The Plan

Happy Halloween from all of us here at SitcomsOnline! Today's blog of course is "all-boo"!

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Universal Home Video's Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Battlestar Galactica is a current remake of the '70s sci-fi series. See Seth's Blog DVD Review of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan :

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (Universal, $26.98)) is a direct-to-DVD follow-up of the acclaimed Sci-Fi Channel original series, whose run concluded this year. The movie follows the action of the Cylons - robots (both mechanical and human-appearing) bent on the genocide of humanity - through the course of events of the first two seasons. If you're not already a fan of the show, you can stop reading right here: This one's strictly for the existing fans.

Warning: All remaining parts of the review will assume at least a passing familiarity with the plot of the show through its four seasons. I'll try to avoid excessive spoilers of both the feature and the TV run, but if you have no clue what I'm even writing about you're going to be doubly confused watching this feature.

Really, this feature - directed by show star Edward James Olmos - isn't even a follow-up so much as a clean-up. The show left several plot issues not entirely explained or even in a position to be left to the imagination, and so this feature goes back to fill in the gaps. The timeline of The Plan spans the events of the miniseries and first two seasons of the show. There's nothing from New Caprica or beyond, but as I happen to dislike the events after that arc was resolved anyway, it's perfectly fine by me to exclude that part.

In the process you get a major amount of new material for two characters, Anders (Michael Trucco) and Cavil (the amazing Dean Stockwell). You also get a flushing out and rehabilitation for one of the least-discussed models, Simon (Rick Worthy) plus some explanation for the conflicting nature of the Cylon model Eight known as Boomer. (Grace Park). Really, the entire thing is a two hour back-story info-dump. Really, that's the problem. There's no cohesive narrative. If you're not a BSG fan there's absolutely zero appeal to watch the movie, and nothing to hold you riveted if you choose to anyway. It's for fans only.
Though unrated, the DVD presentation is clearly for mature audiences only though the packaging doesn't state this. Aside from the near-genocide of the human species and militaristic violence, there's also a particularly disturbing act of violence by one of the two Cavils towards the end, plus some nudity and sexual situations. Without having to clean the show up for cable, things get slightly dirtier. The aforementioned adult situations are for the most part done fairly well contextually, but still, if just for the violence alone you'd have to be insane to let a small child watch this, and the packaging probably needed a better warning. Universal backed down from a plan to include an edited down "for-broadcast" version of the episode, leaving only the unrated full cut on the set. This was probably a mistake, in hindsight.

There's one disc in the set - the full feature being a movie running just short of two hours. The artwork is similar for the set as with the season releases, with lots of dark colors and silver tones, Because the film focuses so much on the Cylons, all characters depicted on the front cover are Cylons. The disc is blue, and in general fits in with the design scheme of the show's previous releases. Solid job by the artwork folks - it's appreciated. Video quality is an interesting issue: The movie features a combination of new footage interspersed with occasional old footage. The old footage looks just *slightly* out of place. More out of place is suddenly watching characters age forward or backwards five years in some scenes. Audio is a wonderful 5.1 surround track. The show has always made wonderful use of music, and it really shines on the multi-channel audio format. Obviously you can skip ahead via chapter stops - otherwise it'd be quite maddening to navigate a two hour feature.

The set also comes with loads of bonus features (otherwise it wouldn't be a Galactica set). Spanning the full length of the movie is a commentary by the feature's main writer Jane Espenson alongside the movie's director (and series star) Edward James Olmos. You get to hear their respective takes on why they did what they did in this movie's production. The episode is directed beautifully, though the writing does have one or two issues with scene flow. Overall it's quite a nice listen.
You also get a feature talking about Olmos' path from show star to show director, the social relevancy of the show (particularly in its first two-plus seasons), and interview with the cast. Also included are deleted scenes, plus features on creating the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, a lengthy one about the visual effects that went into the film, as well as one that talks about the Cylons and their portrayals. One of the main things to watch in this and the other features is the unrestrained praise for Dean Stockwell.

Dean (who I've been a huge fan of ever since the Quantum Leap days) slowly has all of the evil intents and purposes of the Cylons placed onto his shoulders, so that by the time we get to this feature he's easily the overwhelming source of the evil of the Cylon race. Add in to that having to portray a second, nicer, version of himself in this same movie, and you get a phenomenal performance by an exceptional actors. This one theme - that Dean Stockwell IS awesome - is hammered home more than just about any other single point it seemed to me, and I have to concur.

As much as I loved the first two-and-change years of the show, as much as I happen to love the acting of Dean Stockwell, and as much as I'm happy to see some depth added to the second-tier Cylons (Simon in particular), there's something about this movie that just doesn't feel right. Really, it's not a stand-alone feature at all so much as a companion piece to the first two seasons. If anything, the idea order for watching the series would be to watch the miniseries and seasons 1 and 2 plus Razor. When you get to the point where they want to airlock the dual Cavils, stop and watch this DVD. Once done, finish the series. That's really the idea viewing order, and the one that makes the most sense chronologically, thanks in part to the way the opening and closing scenes frame the film.

But as a stand-alone feature, based solely on its merits and without the cushioning of the TV show itself? It's incoherent, and there's too much going on with too little exposition. This, more than just about any other film release of a TV show I've ever seen, really is just for the fans. If you're a fan (with no inhibitions towards violence or moderate sexual content, pick this up NOW. If you're not a fan, or those two content issues are deal-breakers? Avoid it like the plague; you'll only get a headache. I personally liked it, but only because I already knew what was going on. If you're a fan? It is 4/5 Stars. If you're not? It is 2/5 stars. Hence, my final score below...

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(3/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Battlestar Galactica TV.com Page

Nick at Nite November 2009 Highlights - George Lopez Thanksgiving Week; American Dad Renewed Through 2011

Nick at Nite this November will celebrate Thanksgiving with George...George Lopez, of course! But first the regular schedule remains pretty consistent with October, with Malcolm in the Middle and Everybody Hates Chris having the 8-10pm block Sun-Thurs, followed by George Lopez in the 10pm hour Sun-Fri, The Nanny from 11pm-1am every night, more George Lopez in the 1am hour Mon-Fri, Roseanne from 2-6am every night, and The Nanny in the 6am half-hour every weekday. Variations include Glenn Martin, DDS on Mondays at 8pm & Saturdays at 10:30pm, Malcolm in the Middle weekends in the 1am hour, Everybody Hates Chris gets the Nickelodeon hour on Fridays at 9, while George Lopez gets it Saturdays at 9, and finally Everybody Hates Chris airs in the 10pm half-hour on Saturdays.
As for specials and stunts, we have an encore of Mr. Troop Mom starring George Lopez airing this Sunday (Nov. 1) from 9-11pm. And during Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 23-29), it's nothing but George Lopez, as Nick at Nite celebrates the holiday with their favorite family! So spend time with your family watching the Lopez family all-week long from 9pm-6am (Mon-Thurs), 10pm-6am (Fri, Sun), and 9:30pm-6am (Sat).
View the full November 2009 schedule and highlights!
Meanwhile on Nickelodeon, on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26) we get Nick Jr. specials from 6:30am-11:30am which includes Barbie: 3 Musketeers, followed by iCarly, True Jackson, SpongeBob, and Mr. Troop Mom movies. SpongeBob and The Penguins of Madagascar get a marathon, including premieres at 8:00pm on Friday, November 27. On Saturday, November 28, all-new Nicktoons episodes from 9:00am-12:00pm & iCarly premiere from 8:00pm-9:30pm. And finally on Sunday, November 29, it's the all-new Merry Christmas Drake & Josh movie from 8:00pm-10:00pm.

Fox has ordered a sixth season of American Dad!, the animated series featuring security-obsessed CIA agent and devoted family man Stan Smith (Seth MacFarlane). Recently honored with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, American Dad! airs Sundays (9:30PM ET/PT) on Fox. The series ranks in the Top 10 programs of the season among Teens, Male Teens, Men 18-34, Persons 12-34, Adults 18-34 and Men 18-49.
The renewal means that all three series from Seth MacFarlane -- Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and now American Dad! -- have pickups through next season (2010-2011).
Currently American Dad! is in its fifth season on TV, but is still airing episodes produced for season four.

New Scrubs and Better off Ted Return to ABC in December; NBC Cancels Trauma, More Chuck; Roseanne's Wicked Halloween Bash on TV Land

Scrubs will return with an all-new season starting Tuesday, December 1 (as I expected), as the action will shift from Sacred Hearts hospital to the classroom and make med-school professors of John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox and Donald Faison's Dr. Turk, however their students will still make rounds at Sacred Heart. Eliza Coupe as intern Denise "Jo from Facts of Life" Mahoney will remain on the show. Joining the cast are Michael Mosley, Kerry Bishe and Dave Franco. Scrubs will air back-to-back episodes for its season premiere on Dec. 1 at 9:00pm & 9:30pm (airing after A Charlie Brown Christmas and the new special Disney Prep & Landing), before airing every Tuesday in the 9:00pm half hour. Most of the original cast will make appearances throughout the season, including Zach Braff as J.D., but this series will now focus on a new cast with McGinley and Faison now the stars. 18 episodes have been ordered for season nine, of which at least 4 or 5 will air in December before the holidays.
The new Scrubs will lead into the second season of the hilarious comedy Better off Ted. That will launch its second season on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 9:30pm. Unofficially 13 episodes have been ordered, but there is no confirmation of that. The first season had 13 episodes, with 7 airing in the spring and 6 in the summer. If you missed any of those 13 episodes, get the DVD coming out Dec. 1 or watch the last 5 episodes from season one on Hulu.

NBC has canceled freshman medical drama Trauma, which is airing Mondays at 9pm. The series has failed to draw any interest and will remain airing until it finishes its 13 episode order, as of now at least, but production has stopped for anything more than 13 episodes. If NBC sticks with the show on the schedule, the finale will be airing on Dec. 21.
Meanwhile, it looks like Chuck will return earlier than planned, as NBC has ordered 6 more episodes of the one-hour comedy. Originally 13 episodes were ordered, so now we have a total of 19. It is expected to return to Mondays starting in January now, instead of March. Stay with us for an official confirmation!

TV Land has stirred up a magical brew of Halloween-themed episodes of Roseanne to celebrate All Hallow's Eve on Saturday, October 31 from 10:00PM-2:00AM (ET/PT). Tune in to "Roseanne's Wicked Halloween Bash" for a haunting night of episodes, including when the Conners have a spooky night of fun with a Ouija board, a hilarious parody of the horror flick Rosemary's Baby, their annual Halloween party at the lodge and finally, a night filled with antics that leads to the arrival of a new family member -- Jerry Garcia Conner.
Episodes airing are: "BOO!," "Trick or Treat," "Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down," "Halloween IV," "Halloween V," "Skeleton in the Closet," "Halloween: the Final Chapter," and "Satan, Darling."

Grounded for Life Returns to ABC Family; Comedy Central Acquires The Goode Family

Grounded for Life is returning to ABC Family in November. They made a last minute change and will return Grounded for Life on Monday, Nov. 2 airing weekdays in the 4pm hour, replacing What I Like About You, which will be leaving the line-up for now. The Donal Logue sitcom was airing on weekends (Saturdays 10-11am and Sundays 11am-12pm) until the end of September, when it was replaced by 8 Simple Rules in October, so now the sitcom returns...in a much better slot and more airings! Now all they need to do is add 8 Simple Rules back to weekdays, and I'll be happy!
View our previous blog post on ABC Family November 2009, which we highlighted the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas (Nov. 10-30).

Comedy Central has acquired the animated sitcom The Goode Family for play starting in January. The series aired for 13 episodes this past summer on ABC and didn't deliver in the ratings on Wednesday nights before quickly being burned off to Friday nights. The Goode Family is from Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, and there is also a slight chance Comedy Central can pick up the show for a second season and produce new episodes!
The series revolves around a family attempting to live an ultra-politically correct lifestyle and stars the voices of Mike Judge, Nancy Carell, Linda Cardellini, Dave Herman and Brian Doyle-Murray. It was pretty good, I thought.
Comedy Central is also in talks to pick-up Sit Down, Shut Up, the Fox animated sitcom that also was short-lived, Variety reports. Stay tuned if they do!

Speaking of animated comedies, look for the classic Halloween special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown tonight at 8pm on ABC leading into ABC Comedy Wednesday comedies The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town from 8:30-10pm. Good stuff!

Cougar Town Special Marathon on SOAPnet, ION Television November 2009; TV Land Makes Changes to Yesterday's Changes

SOAPnet announced that it will air a four-episode marathon of ABC's hit comedy Cougar Town on Saturday, November 14 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM. The critically acclaimed series airs Wednesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC. They are doing this to attract even more new viewers to the program. The show has done very well in the ratings, especially in the 18-49 demo. The Cougar Town marathon will include four previous episodes ("Pilot," "Into the Great Wide Open," "Don't Do Me Like That," and "I Won't Back Down") previously broadcast on ABC earlier this season.
Courteney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by.
Along for the journey are her friends and family: Laurie (Busy Philipps), the younger, feisty co-worker who encourages her to get out there and have some fun; Ellie (Christa Miller), the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante content with her life and marriage to her average, but loveable husband, Andy (Ian Gomez); ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), a classic under-achiever who'll test her patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis (Dan Byrd); and newly divorced neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins), who proves to be a catalyst of sorts for Jules.

This November on ION Television, we don't have any schedules changes, as of now, but we have a lot of movie premieres. ION airs movies Fridays in primetime and all-day on Saturday & Sundays (3pm-11pm). Movie premieres for the month are On Deadly Ground, Breach, Heist, Miami Vice, Out for Justice, Waterworld, Demolition Man, and The Rookie. Encore airings include Hunt for Red October, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Last Boy Scout, Batman Forever, Sphere, Pale Rider, Magnum Force, and The Enforcer.
So the regular weekday schedule will remain the same as it is now, with Reba at 4, Family Feud from 5-7p, Ghost Whisperer at 7, and in primetime Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by various nights and times of NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Durham County.
See the full ION Television November 2009 schedule.

Yesterday we announced some TV Land schedule changes that starts today...and now they have made changes to those changes. Bonanza will still replace Gunsmoke at 3pm, leaving Gunsmoke only at 2pm on weekdays, but now Bonanza will remain in its 4pm and 5pm hours. That means All in the Family (originally scheduled to air 4pm) will now air back-to-back in the 6pm hour replacing Little House on the Prairie, which leaves the weekday schedule now. It will remain Sunday nights (early Monday mornings) from 4-6am. Sanford & Son (originally scheduled to air 5pm) will now get the 7pm hour, replacing Andy Griffith, Hogan's Heroes and Brady Bunch hours. Andy Griffith Show will still be replacing series from 8-10pm weekdays (Fridays it is 8-9pm), as we announced yesterday. However, Cosby Show will replace Andy's Monday block from 10pm-12am. Other little changes include two-hour episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on weekends from 8-10am, Gunsmoke & Bonanza on Sundays are now 10am-3pm, and Andy Griffith is now 3pm-9pm on Sundays. M*A*S*H follows on Sundays from 9pm-11pm, as Roseanne gets an additional hour now on Sundays airing 11pm-2am. Also a personal bummer for me, the Three's Company marathon slated for this Saturday (Oct. 31) from 12:30pm-8pm, will be replaced by Sanford & Son and it gets two more hours, too, airing from 12:30pm-10pm.
See the full changes and the full TV Land schedule now.

TV Land Orders Sitcom Pilots, Schedule Changes This Week; NBC Orders Full Seasons of 3 Shows; Remembering Soupy Sales and More

TV Land has given cast-contingent pilot orders to the comedy series Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35. This is TV Land's first foray into scripted comedy series and is being developed for TV Land PRIME, the network's primetime programming block designed to appeal to the attitudes, life stage and interests of people in their 40s.
Hot in Cleveland is written by Emmy Award-winning Suzanne Martin (Frasier, Ellen) and produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes' (Will & Grace) Hazy Mills Production.
Chris Case (Reba, Spin City) is the writer for Retired at 35 and Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis (Rita Rocks, Reba, Titus) are executive producers.
Hot in Cleveland revolves around three fabulous, eccentric, LA women of a certain age, and best friends whose lives are changed forever when their plane unexpectedly lands in Cleveland and they soon rediscover themselves in this new "promised land." Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman who decides to leave the rat race of New York City behind and move into his parents’ Florida retirement home to reconnect with them, reevaluate his life and live the dream of retirement that so many are working towards.
These are just pilot orders, it doesn't mean they will air and have been picked-up. It all depends on the cast and if the pilots came out good. So stay with us and you'll find out if they actually make it on air!

Also at TV Land, some changes are happening this week...and they are pretty good if you like classic TV! Starting tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 27), weekdays in the 4pm hour will now be more All in the Family, replacing an episode of Bonanza. All in the Family will also still remain in the 12 noon half-hour as well! In the 5pm hour, we now have an hour of Sanford & Son, replacing Bonanza. And Sanford & Son will remain in the 11am hour as well. Bonanza is now airing 6pm om Tuesdays (Little House remains on the other weekdays), Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm, and weekdays at 3pm now replacing an episode of Gunsmoke, which remains at 2pm. The other weekday changes in the 7pm hour is now The Andy Griffith Show, as Hogan's Heroes and Brady Bunch are not airing anymore on weekdays. Andy will also air from 8-10pm each weeknight (except Fridays it is 7-9pm). This means the primetime marathons from 9pm-12am are now cut to 10pm-12am, with Andy on Mondays, 3rd Rock on Tuesdays, M*A*S*H on Wednesdays, and Roseanne on Thursdays. Everything else is the same as it was before.

NBC has picked up the comedies Community (Thursdays, 8:00 p.m. ET) and Parks and Recreation (Thursdays, 8:30 p.m. ET) -- as well as the new drama Mercy (Wednesdays, 8-9 p.m. ET) -- for the rest of the season by adding nine additional episodes to each.
All three are doing so-so in the ratings, but NBC has picked them up anyway for full seasons. Parks and Recreation is in its first full season after launching mid-season last spring, while the other two are actually rookies. So far this season, Mercy has averaged a 2.1 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 7.8 million viewers overall. Community has averaged a 2.6 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 5.7 million viewers overall so far this season, that includes a stint at 9:30 p.m. after The Office. And Parks and Recreation has averaged a 2.1 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall this season.
The jury is still out for NBC's Trauma, which has not heard its fate yet.

Finally, we leave you today with a recap of many stars that have passed away in the past week or so.
Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, has died. Sales died at Thursday (Oct. 22, 2009) night at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said. The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show. His greatest success came in New York with The Soupy Sales Show in 1976 -- an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics. His sitcom credits included Hennessey, The Beverly Hillbillies, Love American Style, Love Boat, Wings and Boy Meets World. He appeared on many game shows as well such as What's My Line, I've Got a Secret, The Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Body Language, and more. Mr. Sales will certainly be missed. Let's throw a pie in someone's face or at least eat a pie in honor of him. Mr. Sales was 83.
Vic Mizzy, who composed the indelible theme music for The Addams Family and Green Acres died Saturday, October 17 in Los Angeles. For the The Addams Family theme, which became a long-remembered part of '60s pop culture, Mizzy played the harpsichord and sang the vocal parts (overdubbing his own voice three times) and coached the actors during the main-title sequence (including on-camera finger-snapping by the actors). The equally iconic Green Acres theme was performed by stars Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor. Mizzy also wrote all the underscore for both series. His theme for Addams was reprised in the 1990s feature films. Mizzy also had many other 1960s and '70s sitcom themes that also included The Pruitts of Southampton, The Double Life of Henry Phyfe, Captain Nice, The Don Rickles Show and Temperature's Rising. He also wrote underscores for TV's Richard Boone Show and Quincy along with several TV movies including Terror on the 40th Floor. His film scores included the William Castle films The Night Walker and The Busy Body; five Don Knotts films: The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Shakiest Gun in the West, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Love God? and How to Frame a Figg; and other films including The Caper of the Golden Bulls, Don't Make Waves and Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? His TV and film scores will certainly remain on TV/film, but he will certainly be missed. Mr. Mizzy was 93.
TV director Linda Day passed away on Friday, October 23, 2009. Linda was the first woman to receive steady employment as a TV director. To her credit are more than 50 different series and 350 episodes including Married... with Children (for which she did the pilot and continued for more than two years), Archie Bunker's Place, Dallas, Kate & Allie, Alice, WKRP, Benson, Newhart, Too Close for Comfort, Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, It's Your Move, Double Trouble, Small Wonder, Gimme a Break, Throb, Women in Prison, Major Dad, Top of the Heap, Teacher's Only, Mad About You, Who's the Boss?, Baby Talk, Almost Home, Thea, The Nanny, Unhappily Ever After, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Clueless. And that's just some of the shows! During the 1980's and part of the 1990's, Linda was one of the top 5 television directors currently then working. She will be certainly be missed and was a pioneer for women TV directors. Ms. Day was 71.

Week 5 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 5 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Wed):
(Network averages for Thursday were not available once again, thus here are final network averages for Mon-Wed. Final Thursday program numbers are available in the analysis, though.)

Households: #1. CBS 8.4/13.4; #2. ABC 6.6/10.5; #3. Fox 6.0/9.6; #4. NBC 4.4/7.0; #5. The CW 1.4/2.2
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 13.34 million; #2. ABC 10.09 million; #3. Fox 9.73 million; #4. NBC 6.96 million; #5. The CW 1.98 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. CBS 3.6/9.7; #2. Fox 3.5/9.5; #3. ABC 2.6/6.9; #4. NBC 2.4/6.4; #5. The CW 1.0/2.5.

Week 5 (Oct. 19-25) Analysis: For week 5 we have CBS on top through the first four days in HH/viewers, with Fox on top in 18-49. Fox will likely win the week in 18-49 thanks to MLB's ALCS with the Yankees and Angels. Through the first four days in week 5 I can project, CBS has the lead in HH/viewers but second in 18-49, with ABC second in HH/viewers but third in 18-49, as Fox is in third in HH/viewers, but first in 18-49 and NBC is back in fourth everywhere as usual with NFL coming to save the day tonight. Last week, week 4, CBS won the week in HH/viewers and 18-49, while ABC was second in HH/total viewers, but tied for third in 18-49 with NBC. NBC was fourth in HH/viewers, with Fox up ahead in third. Fox was second in 18-49, only .1 behind CBS for first.
On Monday ABC, Fox and CBS did well again. A two-hour Dancing with the Stars won the total viewer race with 16.82 million for ABC, up a tad from the previous week. An all-new Castle followed with a solid 9.69 million, and up again from the previous week in 18-49! Very consistent. Next up was CBS with its comedies and CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 8.06 million, down from the previous week and Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 8.26 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, both up from the previous week and built from the lead-in...interesting. Two and a Half Men followed with 14.07 million which was down just a tad from the previous week, and The Big Bang Theory followed and continues to impress and did a nice 13.47 million, up some from the previous week. The show also did a 5.3 18-49 rating, tying its highest ever. A new episode of CSI: Miami did 13.16 million, down a bit again from the previous week. Fox had a new episode of House and it did a below normal 11.65 million, because it didn't start until 8:43pm due to baseball... the show did a 4.5 A18-49 rating, a season low. A new episode of Lie to Me followed at 9:44pm and did 7.79 million. Could be better. NBC followed with Heroes doing 5.72 million, up a tad from the previous week. A new episode of Trauma followed and did only 5.46 million and only a 1.8 A18-49 rating, basically on par from the previous week though. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.74 million, down from previous week. The CW on Mondays has been a struggle so far, with One Tree Hill doing only 2.21 million and Gossip Girl at an even worse 1.98 million...both down week-to-week.
On Tuesday, CBS was in control as usual. CBS had the always reliable NCIS opening the night off with 21.25 million, up from the previous week. Another series high, no one knows how though. A new episode of NCIS: Los Angeles was next and did 16.48 million, finally went up for the first time from the previous week. And finally CBS aired The Good Wife and did 13.26 million, up some from the previous week. ABC was a distant second with the season finale of Shark Tank doing 5.92 million...up week-to-week again. It went up each week, but it belongs in summer. Then it was Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 14.92 million, up a million week-to-week as we said goodbye to Natalie Coughlin surprisingly. Vitto or Irvin deserved to go instead. ABC followed with a new episode of the forgotten doing 7.3 million, down a bit week-to-week. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser 2-hour show doing 9.82 million, up from previous week, followed by the The Jay Leno Show at just 5.7746 million, which was down from previous week again. Fox aired Game 4 of the MLB ALCS and it did 10.7 million in primetime (10.3 million overall) and a solid 3.4 18-49 rating. So You Think You Can Dance returns this Tuesday. The CW aired 90210 with just 2.25 million, followed by dud Melrose Place at an even worse 1.5 million. The latter was up some from previous week, while the former was even.
Wednesday again it was CBS with the overall win. CBS started slow with Old Christine doing 6.58 million, which was down from the previous week, followed by Gary Unmarried at 6.76 million, also down from its previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds did 14.27 million which was up from the previous week, with CSI: NY doing 13.01 million, down some from previous week. ABC started the 8pm hour with Hank & The Middle and did OK. Hank did an OK 5.78 million but only a 1.5 18-49 rating, both series lows. Look for Charlie Brown this week. The Middle did a better 6.52 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, nice builds from the lead-in in 18-49. New episodes of the hilarious sitcoms Modern Family and Cougar Town both did well again with 8.66 and 7.31 million, but down from previous week. The A18-49 ratings for both were more telling doing 3.4 and 3.1. At 10pm Eastwick did only 4.77 million, down from previous week, for a series low. People need to watch Lindsay Price, as she shines on this show. NBC opened the night with Mercy doing 7.19 million, down some from the previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed and did 9.15 million, up again some from previous week. Slowly going up, each week. At 10pm NBC aired The Jay Leno Show of course at just 5.14 million, down a million week-to-week. Fox was fourth, with So You Think You Can Dance at 6.91 million...down some from previous week, and then Glee followed to a decent 7.15 million and a 3.3 A18-49 rating, but both down from previous week. The CW had its usual showing of Top Model at 2.98 million, down a tad from previous week and a repeat of Melrose Place followed with just 950,000 viewers. This is a dud and I don't think Locklear can even save it!
Thursday it was ABC on top while the CBS 9-11pm hours were in repeats. ABC opened the night with FLASHFORWARD doing 9.87 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, up from previous week in viewers and even in 18-49. Dominc Monaghan joins the cast officially this week, I was mistaken last week. A new Grey's Anatomy followed with 15.06 million and a great 5.3 A18-49 rating, both up from previous week. Great whodunnit type mystery! And a new episode of Private Practice did a solid 9.92 million and a first place at 10pm 3.7 A18-49 rating, both down some week-to-week. CBS opened with Survivor: Samoa at 12.9 million and a 4.0 A18-49 rating, both up from previous week by a lot. A repeat episode of CSI followed with 10.14 million, while The Mentalist was also a repeat and did a better 11.79 million. Fox started preempted Bones and Fringe with MLB ALCS Game 5 doing 11.85 million, which is excellent. Game 6 is tonight (Sunday) on Fox. NBC was next with Community at 8pm doing 5.04 million on par really from previous week, followed by sitcom dud Parks & Recreation at only 4.93 million, but up some week-to-week. At 9pm, The Office did 8.73 million and a solid 4.4 18-49 rating, both up week-to-week. A new episode of 30 Rock did 6.84 million, up from the season premiere the previous week. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 4.97 million, down again week-to-week. The CW's only consistent player so far is Vampire Diaries but it was a repeat and it did 2.27 million, still better than mostly everything on The CW, followed by a repeat of Supernatural at 1.83 million.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with their dramas as usual. While Brothers, 'Til Death & Dollhouse on Fox were lower than ever in prelim numbers.
Saturday numbers had CBS win overall and ABC in 18-49 thanks to Saturday Night Football. Fox had to settle with repeats because of the ALCS rainout.
Tonight the full ABC Sunday line-up is airing (AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters), look for solid numbers as usual despite the sporting events tonight. NBC should have something to tout about with the NFL game, but could be down from previous week due to ALCS Game 6 on Fox, especially in NY. CBS has its usual players, but Three Rivers will be slaughtered again, as the cancelation click is ticking. Fox has NFL overrun leading into Game 6 of the MLB ALCS, so expect Fox to win the night in 18-49 and possibly viewers.
As for week three, CBS will win in HH, viewers and but Fox will win 18-49 thanks to NFL overrun/MLB ALCS games. Look for ABC in second in HH/viewers unless the game tonight on Fox does VERY big and that would have Fox overtake ABC for the week in HH/viewers. ABC will likely be third in 18-49. NBC will be fourth in all categories.

Week 5 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 4-- October 12-18)

• Brothers (Fox) - A special new episode at 7pm did only 2.27 million...not good.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 8.69 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating for the annual Treehouse of Horror episode. Up from previous week obviously. A repeat at 7:30pm lead in and did 4.55 million.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 7.62 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating. Both down a bit from the week prior, despite the lead-in going up.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 8.13 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating for a REPEAT. Strange this was the only repeat of the block.
• American Dad (Fox) - 6.25 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating...both down from previous week, but remember the lead-in was a repeat.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - New episode did 8.06 million, down from the previous week, and a 3.4 A18-49 rating also down from the previous week.
• Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 8.26 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, both up from the previous week and built from the lead-in for I think the first time. But what does that mean? Because CBS has repeats tomorrow for their comedies.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.07 million...down a tad from the previous week. Still the sitcom leader overall.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 13.47 million...up from the previous week and still built from the lead-in's 18-49 rating from a 4.8 to a 5.3, even though the lead-in was even week-to-week, this show jumped .3 ratings points. Still sitcom leader in 18-49.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - New episode did 6.58 million, down from previous week. 18-49 rating of a 2.0 was also down.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Like the lead-in, 6.76 million, down from previous week, but built from the lead-in a bit in 18-49 to a 2.2 rating.
• Hank (ABC) - Down from previous week's 6.15 million to 5.78 million...not good. 18-49 rating was down a tick from previous week at 1.5. Not on this week, so let's see how Charlie Brown helps.
• The Middle (ABC) - 6.52 million, down a bit from previous week and it built nicely from the lead-in in 18-49 from a 1.5 to a 2.0. This show is hysterical!
• Modern Family (ABC) - A hilarious episode did 8.66 million and a nice 3.4 18-49 rating, both down though week-to-week.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A new episode did 7.31 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, both also down some from previous week.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - New episode did 5.04 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. Need to do better, but it was picked-up for a full season anyway.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - This show did terrible doing only 4.93 million and just a 2.1 A18-49 rating, but up some from previous week.
• The Office (NBC) - 8.73 million for a new episode, up from the previous week. In 18-49 it did a 4.4 rating I guess no new CSI helps this show?
• 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode did a bit better 6.84 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. Still dropped over a point in 18-49 from the lead-in...not good, but both up week-to-week.

Friday Sitcoms

• Brothers (Fox) - Only a prelim 2.35 million for a new episode. Moving to Sundays at 7 now.
• 'Til Death (Fox) - An even worse prelim of 1.97 million for a new episode...not on the schedule anymore.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) are no sitcoms, as Fox's animated comedies are preempted for NFL/MLB action

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, & Accidentally on Purpose were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Middle, 30 Rock) or just plain old terrible (such as Hank, Parks & Recreation).

Blog DVD Review: Peanuts - 1970's Collection, Vol. 1

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. Today week we take a look at Warner Home Video's Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1. We get the first six remastered TV specials from the '70s on DVD including a few for the first time ever! See my Blog DVD Review of Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1:

Peanuts - 1970's Collection, Vol. 1 (Warner, $29.98) brings us the first six 1970's TV specials on DVD digitally remastered...and it is really worth it! These are the first six TV specials from the '70s, as we still have another half dozen or so still left from the '70s. On this set we get Play it Again, Charlie Brown; You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown; There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown; and It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Play it Again and It's a Mystery specials are being released for the first time ever on DVD! There's No Time for Lovewasn't released digitally remastered previously, so it looks much better here.
Among the stories on these six specials are: Lucy trying to win Schroeder's affections by persuading him to perform; Charlie Brown runs for Student Body President; Peppermint Patty and Marcie admire Charlie Brown; the classic Thanksgiving feast; Snoopy turns into a detective to find Woodstock's missing next; and the Easter "Beagle" is coming to town.

Let's now move on to the packaging. Like all the previous Peanuts sets, we have a thin outer box that holds a very thin case, that is movie style. I never understood the reason for the thin box that holds a thin case...again what's the point? It doesn't need protection really. Also, both the back and front of each are exactly the same, except the box is shinier. The cover art is white in color, and has a shot of Charlie Brown and Lucy at a booth with the wording "the doctor is in." The title of the special is on the roof of the book, with a mention that the six specials are remastered on the top with a Snoopy Peanuts logo! To the back we go, we get a nice shot of Lucy holding a football as Charlie Brown misses the kick and the wording "Outta Sight Collection, Charlie Brown." The back also has a disc-by-disc breakdown on what specials to expect. When we open the case, we get nice artwork and details on each special on each side. The first disc is in a plastic holder, that we can flip back and forth like a page on a book. Disc two is actually on the right panel. Disc art has a white background, with artwork of Snoopy & Woodstock on disc one and Marcie and Peppermint Patty on disc two. Inside the case there is also an insert for two free songs from "Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits" soundtrack that you can redeem at iTunes.

The menu screen has options of Features, Trailers, Special Features, and Languages. We get that white background again, with the theme song playing in the background. We also have the same artwork as the cover art of Lucy and Charlie Brown on disc one, but disc two has Snoopy on the roof of his red dog house acting like he is a pilot. Anyway back to the menu, Trailers is just on disc one and we get some for the Miser Brothers Christmas and Scooby-Doo Mystery Begins DVD. We also get auto-trailers on each disc before the main menu for items like Peanuts '60s Collection, I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown Holiday Collection, and Saturday Morning 60s/70s DVD. For Languages, we can have either have English, Espanol, Portuguese or Japanese. For subtitles we have those four again and also French and Thai! The Features section has the specials listed, we can also select Play All to play them consecutively. Finally, Special Features is on disc two only and lists the featurette and a trailer for Harry Potter.

The video and audio is tremendous once again. These specials are all so good ever since they stated the Remastered Collection sets. They have never looked better or sounded better ever. I am very impressed yet again; what more can I continue to say about these digitally remastered sets? Warner continues to do a great job on this remastering of all these classic specials. Each special has 5 chapter stops and runtimes are all between 25:00-25:15-ish. So, yes of course it is unedited! These sets are must buys for the video quality alone!

As for special features, we get a nice featurette! It is titled "Woodstock: Creating Snoopy's Sidekick" and runs 12:42. Find out how the little yellow Woodstock was born and more on the loveable non-speaking character. Interviewed are Lee Mendelson (executive producer), Phil Cousineau (author), Alexis Fajardo (cartoonist), Derek Bary (Peanuts Historian), and Jean Schulz (Charles' wife).

I once again highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. Continue your collection, because we get another two specials we never had on DVD before and one remastered for the first time on DVD. This is worth it! It is now safe to say we have the first 6 specials from the '70s remastered! We have 6 more to go from the '70s still, and I'm sure Warner will do a good job on that set as well, but let's hope they announce a street date for that soon. Warner continues to do a wonderful job with the remastering and the behind the scenes extras for each set. Let's hope they continue to release more Peanuts specials and eventually we get them all remastered in our personal libraries! So head back to the grooving '70s and relive the first six classic specials from that decade all over again! The doctor is certainly in on this DVD!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Charlie Brown Official Page
Charlie Brown Specials