The WB Will End in a Big Bang; More 4th of July Weekend Stunts

The WB will sign off the air forever on Sunday, Sept. 17, by rebroadcasting the pilot episodes of several of its signature series. In addition to the pilots, The WB plans to fill its final night with a bevy of classic promos and image campaigns from The WB's 11-year history. There'll also be a final tribute reel featuring the hundreds of actores/actresses who've appeared on WB series over the years. Because the final bow will take place on a Sunday -- a night on which The WB airs programming from 5-10 p.m. -- their blowout bye-bye will be a full five hours:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2006
The WB's Final Bow
Pilot Episodes From Classic WB Series
5:00 p.m. Felicity
6:00 p.m. Angel
7:00 p.m. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2 hours)
9:00 p.m. Dawson's Creek

Some shows that would seem a natural for the last night -- such as Smallville and 7th Heaven -- won't appear because they'll live on at the merged WB-UPN, which is called the CW. The CW premieres September 18.
Discuss this final tribute here. Some of the hot topics are why they're not airing Charmed.

So far we have given you the following 4th of July marathon details: TV One, FX, TNT, TBS, Boomerang, and ABC. If you missed those, browse through our June 2006 archives. Today we will dulge out a few more! We gave you details a few months back I believe that Nick@Nite will have an all-night Roseanne "cookout" on Sunday, July 2--so that is another reminder for you.
Probably the best and biggest marathon this holiday weekend will go to the Sci-Fi Channel. They will shelve out a 3-day marathon of the classic Twilight Zone! Tune in starting Sunday, July 2 at 9 a.m. through 6 a.m., then the next day from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. and on the 4th of July from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Now that is a marathon! Another marathon this 4th of July is USA Network's Monk marathon July 4 itself! Catch the goode detective from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hallmark Channel will head to the sunset as they go back west with Bonanza and Rawhide. Bonanza will air on July 3 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Rawhide on July 4 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ABC Family will celebrate the holiday tomorrow (July 1) with a Grounded for Life marathon. Celebrate your 4th of July weekend with the “Proud to be a Finnerty” Grounded for Life marathon by reliving all the fireworks, fun and Finnerty family moments, Saturday, July 1 (12:00PM-12:00AM ET/PT). Follow Sean and Claudia’s unique problem solving methods and parenting skills as the Finnerty’s discover that too large a dose of family pride can prove to be beneficial and detrimental.
Before I get any emails, no, TV Land will not have any marathons this holiday weekend. But you can get ready for its new show 227 weekday afternoons at 12:30 p.m. starting July 3!
Tomorrow we will give info on G4, Style, Bravo and even BET. So come on back and join us before your family cookout!

Fox, Warner Shows, MTV Network Shows, etc. on iTunes, Peer Impact, Guba; 3 Pieces on 'The Office'

Video-sharing site Guba has paired with Warner Bros. to distribute licensed Warner Bros. content online. The site, through its "Guba Premium" section, has begun offering more than 200 Warner Bros. movie titles including Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck, as well as the TV programs Babylon 5, The Dukes of Hazard, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons. The content can be downloaded and played on computers, streamed to a TV or loaded to portable video devices. The price starts at $1.99 per movie title for unlimited viewing within 24 hours. They can also be bought. Older movies will go for $9.99 and new movies, released the same day as their DVDs hit stores, will go for $19.99. TV shows will go for $1.79 an episode. For more information on Guba, click here.

Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. will make select movies and TV shows available for download through a peer-to-peer content delivery network run by Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Wurld Media Inc. Peer Impact's video offering, launched today, is the availability of television episodes for rental from both the Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. libraries. This unprecedented model allows consumers to download television shows such as The Loop, Firefly, The Dukes Of Hazzard and Babylon 5 for a full 24-hour viewing period with prices as low as 99 cents per episode. Movie rentals are also available and include current and library titles for $2.99 to $3.99 through the service's new version of software platform, known as Peer Impact 3.0, which adds a video component to the already diverse content offering previously available. For more information and to download Peer Impact 3.0, click here.

MTV Networks and Apple(R) today announced that new television programming from Spike TV, Nick at Nite, TV Land, Logo, MTV and The N is now available on the iTunes(R) Music Store (http://www.itunes.com). iTunes now offers over 150 TV shows for $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod(R). MTV Networks' programming has been a huge success on iTunes since debuting earlier this year, with Comedy Central's South Park alone selling over one million episodes.
Following are some of the shows that will be available:
TV Land: Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg, hosted by legendary comedian, producer and director David Steinberg, is a one-on-one comedy forum where celebrated performers including Larry David, Martin Short, Bob Newhart, Jon Lovitz and George Lopez open up about their personal lives and careers.
Nick at Nite: Fatherhood, the animated comedy series based on Bill Cosby's best-selling book of the same name; Hi-Jinks, the hit hidden-camera series where adults play good-natured pranks on kids of all ages.
Spike TV: Blade: The Series, the network's first original scripted action-adventure/drama, builds upon New Line Television/Marvel Studio's successful movie trilogy and brings the main character into new story lines. The two-hour premiere episode will be offered for free, exclusively on iTunes today through July 11. TNA: iMPACT, the wrestling alternative that delivers high-risk athletic entertainment, integrating well-known superstars with the best up- and-coming talent. Disorderly Conduct, an adrenaline-packed series with outrageous video footage pulled from police precincts across the country.

And in more iTunes news, USA Network will get in the game, too. USA Network, in partnership with Lionsgate, the industry's leading independent film entertainment studio, have made available episodes of The Dead Zone for purchase on iTunes. This is the first of myriad platforms being considered jointly for electronic sell-through opportunities around the hit series, which debuted its fifth season Sunday, June 18. The show's season five episodes will be made available for purchase on iTunes the day after their broadcast premieres.

NBC's hit comedy The Office (Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:00 p.m. ET, moving to 8:30-9:00 p.m. ET in the fall) goes digital when the first of 10, original stand-alone webisodes premieres on NBC.com on Thursday, July 13. The serialized, weekly arc will star the accounting staff of the Dunder Mifflin paper company in an edge-of-your-ergonomically-designed-seat whodunit. In the first of 10 webisodes, each about two-three minutes, the Dunder Mifflin accountants -- Angela (Angela Kinsey), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Oscar (Oscar Nuez) -- discover that $3000 is missing from the Scranton office, and no one is above suspicion as the crack team of numbers crunchers tries to solve the mystery -- before turning on each other. Rainn Wilson, Melora Hardin, Phyllis Smith, Kate Flannery, Leslie David Baker and David Denman also star.

NBC and YouTube, Inc. announced a strategic partnership that will combine NBC's quality programming with YouTube's vast audience to enhance the entertainment experience on YouTube while engaging viewers in innovative new ways to promote NBC's Fall program lineup and other preferred shows over the next year. The agreement also includes an integrated, cross-promotional advertising relationship on the YouTube service and significant on-air promotion provided by NBC. Under the terms of the agreement, NBC will create an official NBC Channel on YouTube to house its Fall Preview area with exclusive clips to promote NBC's The Office. In addition, over the next year, NBC will upload several video presentations and longform promos per week to the NBC Channel on YouTube from primetime and late-night programs like Saturday Night Live, The Office, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. YouTube will also promote NBC's videos throughout the site.
Additionally, NBC will launch a contest for its hit comedy The Office where people can submit their own creative 20-second promotional videos to NBC's YouTube Group (www.youtube.com/theoffice). NBC will publicize the campaign on air regularly during the first three weeks of the contest, encouraging YouTube users to enter. User-generated videos must be compelling and entertaining and create interest for potential viewers to watch The Office. Examples can be seen in the NBC YouTube Group. The contest runs June 26 through July 21. The winning video will air within the network broadcast of The Office during the month of August. NBC will also offer a "how-to" video featuring writer-producer Bill Lowery, who normally writes and produces all the network's promos for The Office.

Yes, even more news The Office...well, sort of. The French have their own version, Variety reports. But Gallic paybox Canal Plus is taking its cue from the BBC for its first fictional exploration of the workplace. It has adapted Brit cult comedy The Office by helmer-scribe duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Gervais stars in the Brit version as David Brent, the oily boss of a firm that sells paper in a dreary suburb. With Gallic workers' aversion to authority and readiness to strike, French labor relations seem rich with comic possibilities. Le Bureau began airing May 25 in a 10:50 p.m. slot, and has garnered respectable, if not sensational, numbers. It will reach a wider audience when the paybox moves it to a Sunday 8:30 p.m. unencrypted slot this summer. Film subsid Studio Canal will release a DVD of the six-episode series in August. A half-season of three episodes based on original French material is slated to shoot in November.

Nick@Nite Loves 'Roseanne' Even More; More on i network's Warner Bros. Deal

Are you a Roseanne fan? I hope you are because Monday and Thursday nights will be all Roseanne basically on Nick@Nite. Starting tomorrow the 11:30 p.m. slot of The Cosby Show will be Roseanne on Monday and Thursday, the other nights it still will be Cosby Show. So, this now means you can watch Roseanne non-stop from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on these two nights. This change will last until July 17, which is when Nick@Nite's annual summer marathons start. Nick@Nite July discussion is here.

Yesterday we mentioned at least 10 Warner Bros. owned series coming to the i Network (AKA: PAX TV). Today we have learned that there will be at least a dozen series...in fact it is a little over a dozen. I don't know the remaining shows, Warner Bros./i network will not reveal those. At launch time this August, the 10 initial series mentioned will not all premiere. I'm guessing two or three will be left off the line-up for a later date. What about the time periods? Initially it looks like the i Network will air the classic series from 6 to 11 p.m. weekdays. I guess if the ratings are good they will finally cut back on paid programming, which airs 12am-6pm, and expand the hours. The Warner Bros. owned movies will air on weekends in primetime. They will release the launch schedule for these Warner Bros. shows in about two weeks (mid-July)--and we will be the first ones I'm sure letting you know. So, come on back...but also head on over to our message board where it seems this story has been the talk of the town!

"i" Acquires Classic Warner Bros. Shows Starting in August, to Include Perfect Strangers, Mama's Family, and More!; TV Land Honors Aaron Spelling

The channel formerly known as PAX-TV, which of course is now known as "i", just announced they have struck a MAJOR television deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution! Starting this August, they have rights to many classic TV series. They have the broadcast rights to a number of Warner Bros.' most popular television series and movies. Series include classic shows such as Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico and the Man, Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Mama's Family, Alice and Wonder Woman, and more recent hits including The Wonder Years, Growing Pains, Perfect Strangers and The Wayans Bros, among others.
'i" will kick off its Warner Bros. movie schedule with Superman III on Saturday, July 1, coinciding with the weekend's motion picture release of Superman Returns. "i" will begin scheduling the Warner Bros. television product in August. We will have complete details on this line-up when it is available. So you HAVE to keep coming back, because we will hunt it down for you. To discuss this WONDERFUL (and quite frankly, shocking) news, click here.

Meanwhile, TV Land announced it will pay tribute to the late Aaron Spelling both on-air and online. The on-air tribute will consist of an I Love Lucy episode which he guest starred, airing Friday morning at 9:30am and 4:30am. Also, they will air the TV Land original TV Land Moguls: The '70s from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 1. That original showcases Spelling's classic shows from that decade.
The online tribute at tvland.com will have a lot of clips. Clips from the TV Land Awards, TV Land Moguls, I Love Lucy, and an interview TV Land did in 2005. For complete details on the tribute click here.

TV One's 4th of July Marathon, New Schedule; Jim Belushi's New Book!

TV One will celebrate the 4th of July with four different marathons. On Saturday, July 1, you'll see a classic Shaft movies marathon. Then on Sunday, July 2 head back to the church with Deacon Frye and company in the '80s sitcom Amen! Get some Monday laughs and laugh the day away with the many faces of Martin. Catch Martin all-day on Monday, July 3 starting at 10am. Then TV one launches new acquisition Wanda at Large on Independence Day itself! Wanda Sykes stars as a comic turned TV reporter, with the marathon starting at 10am.
Then starting July 5, TV One brings you a schedule change with new shows from their Warner Bros. deal. All the shows will not be premiering at once, but you'll get a taste with Wanda at Large, For Your Love, Fastlane and the short-lived sitcom Minor Adjustments. Taking a seat this month are Roc, Boston Public, and City of Angels. Roc was renewed, so fans of that show do not need to worry--it'll be back soon. For COMPLETE details on these schedule changes, including a new Saturday evening sitcom block, click here.


Actor Jim Belushi now has a book titled Real Men Don't Apologize. SitcomsOnline.com had a chance to receive a copy and boy we sure are happy we got it! It is a HILARIOUS read. It is a quick 272-page read and the list price is just $21.95. This book has all what Jim probably can't say on TV on his hit sitcom According to Jim. The book is like his sitcom and much more though. He talks about his late brother John Belushi in detail. The book is divided into three "books" -- Book 1: How to be a Man, According to Jim; Book 2: Dating, According to Jim; and Book 3: The Book of Love, According to Jim. Each "book" has 5 chapters each. Oh, yes Jim says his editor said he needed a conclusion, which he titles "My Editor Says I Need One of These." You'll love Jim's Sex Glossary at the end of Book 2. Well...maybe Marv Albert, Woody Allen and Bill Clinton won't love it. Here are some excerpts from the book I just loved:
- "Making love is what you do with your wife while you're thinking about CNN's Heidi Collins."
- Number one rule of seduction: "Call the smart ones pretty, and the pretty ones smart."
- "If you think she's cheating on you, then she is-and she'll never admit it."
I'd show you more great excerpts, but we don't use language like that here. Well, anyway, this book is a must have for all men I think. Women you can buy it, too, to see how us men think. You'll be amazed how much this book will teach you about women. This book is like his TV show According to Jim, I think. Of course, with more tips and to the point.
Publishers Weekly says, he frequently refers to his and his friends' failings, advising readers not to make the same mistakes, and while this isn't the pinnacle of relationship-and-lifestyle books, Belushi offers more worthwhile advice than you'd think.
Be sure to order your copy today--because you're missing out on a great read if you haven't read it already. You'll laugh and be very interested because...well, Jim is 100% correct in what he is saying! Visit www.JimBelushi.ws for more info on the book.
And don't forget to catch Jim Belushi in the According to Jim marathon tomorrow from 8 to 10 p.m. on ABC and another mini-marathon on Tuesday, July 4 from 8 to 10 p.m. on ABC! You can catch Jim in its regular 8-9 p.m. slot on ABC Tuesdays all summer long starting July 11.

Summer Week 4 Sitcom Ratings

Dog days of summer have begun. Week 4 Summer Ratings: Sitcom Edition:

Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 6.99 million, good for first in its slot--up a bit from last week.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.96 million, down from previous week.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.05 million tuned for an encore, down from last week.
• New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 7.13 million, down over 1 million viewers from last week's repeat.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends, Half & Half (UPN) - Repeats of these sitcoms were all under 2 million this week, while last week they were all over.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - Aired before the NBA game in most markets, but after the game out west. Did 4.62 million last week, only 3.97 million this week. Get ready for a four-episode marathon this Tuesday featuring classic episodes!
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 5.08 million, up a bit from previous week.
  
• Freddie (ABC) - 4.21 million, slightly up from last week.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) 2 episodes - Aired at 8 and 9, both did decent enough with 5.35 and 5.21 million.
  
• The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - Struggled at 8:30 and 9:30 with 4.3 and 4.06 million, down a lot from lead-in.
  
• That '70s Show (Fox) 2 eps - 3.59 million at 8 p.m., but jumped to 4.42 million at 8:30, as it beat The Office.
  
• Everybody Hates Chris, Love Inc, Eve, Cuts (UPN) - Chris only did well with 2.62 million and the others ranged from 1.66-1.86 million--ouch, though that was up from last week's range.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• What I Like About You, Twins, Reba, Living with Fran (The WB) - All dead last place. Reba was the highest rated one obviously. It is sad when repeats of 24 beat you, as they have never repeated well at all.
  
• Hope & Faith (ABC) - Two episodes averaged only 2.8/5 rating...next week it is replaced by dram Kyle XY--tune in for something original!

Sitcoms tonight (Sunday) are...two more Reba episodes on The WB from 7 to 8, Fox with Malcolm in the Middle at 7 followed by the animated comdies from 7:30 to 9:30 and a Fox airing of the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at 9:30.

SitcomsOnline Remembers TV Legend Aaron Spelling; DVD News Regarding Sony and VEI

Mr. Aaron Spelling, the amazing producer, passed away yesterday at his home after suffering a stroke on Sunday. Mr. Spelling has produced over 200 movies and TV shows. He is probably one of the greatest TV producers of all time, if not the greatest. He got his first major hit in 1963 for the ABC crime drama Burke's Law. Then the hits kept rolling with Daniel Boone and The Mod Squad. The Mod Squad was the first series in the Danny Thomas/Aaron Spelling umbrella. Unfortuantely they didn't have another hit in that production company. They made some TV movies, though. Then the '70s began and Aaron Spelling was just about to become a giant. He signed an exclusive contract with ABC. He joined Leonard Goldberg to form Spelling-Goldberg Productions. They produced a lot of TV movies for ABC. Hit shows they produced were The Rookies, SWAT, Starsky & Hutch and Family. In 1976 they made two big hits, the TV series Charlie's Angels and the big TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble starring John Travolta. Then more ABC hit TV shows came a long such as The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. By then it was like whatever they produced was a hit. Next came Vega$. They finally found two series that didn't work Friends (no, not that one!) in 1979 and The San Pedro Beach Bums in 1978. But they quickly rebounded with a hit called Hart to Hart. His ABC success continued in 1981 with the primetime soap Dynasty. More hits rolled-in as T.J. Hooker with William Shatner and Heather Locklear came along, along with Matt Houston. He tried to produce their first sitcom in 1983 called At Ease, but it didn't work. But he produced another hit drama that year for ABC called Hotel. In 1984 he didn't find success with Glitter and Finders of Lost Love--both lasted one season. Dynasty continued to do well and 1985 they spun-off The Colbys. In 1986 he tried again to do a sitcom and brought in TV legend Lucille Ball to star in Life with Lucy. It also didn't last. With Dynasty ending and Spelling couldn't find any more hits, as Nightingales failed in 1989, he tried movies, such as Soapdish. Then he found success on another network, Fox, in Beverly Hills, 90210...a teen drama. At the same an era of his hits for ABC ended, a new one was born with teen dramas. In 1992 he found another hit for Fox called Melrose Place. That same year he launched three other dramas, but they all didn't last. In 1994, he tried to relaunch Burke's Law on CBS, but it only lasted a season. That same year he launched two other dramas, such as Models Inc., but they didn't last. With Melrose and 90210 still going strong, Spelling still had two hits at least. University Hospital also didn't work. In 1996 he pitched two dramas for the new WB network. Savannah and 7th Heaven. 7th Heaven became a hit, while Savannah was gone. Also that year he launched a drama for NBC called Malibu Shores and Kindred for Fox but they didn't last. It seemed like he was having a lot of failed dramas...something unheard of for him, but at least a lot of his shows made it on the air! He tried his game on an NBC daytime soap next called Sunset Beach. It was pretty popular and lasted 2 years. He tried to launch other hits such as a revival of The Love Boat, this time on UPN, but it lasted just a season. Pacific Palisades, Buddy Faro, Rescue 77 and Safe Harbor didn't work either. Over the years he produced big screen movies for his past shows such as Charlie's Angels and The Mod Squad. He procuded many reunion movies for Hart to Hart. He found his next hit in 1998 with Charmed. After that he tried a lot of series that didn't work in the ratings: Titans, All Souls, Deep Cover, Kingpin, 10-8, Summerland, Queens Supreme, and Clubhouse. Yes, the man was made of magic. It is unheard of to have all these shows even make it on the air. It seemed in the the 70s and 80s all his shows that made it on the air were hits. In the 90s and now he had his fair share of hits, too. He still has 7th Heaven on the air, but Charmed ended its run this past season.
Let's hope TV Land pays tribute to him in someway. He even guest starred on an episode of Burke's Law back in 1964 on the episode "Who Killed Julian Buck?" That would be nice to see. He was also on a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, so TV Land could air that, too. He wrote the episode of The Rookies titled "Blue Christmas." TV Land should air that, too. So, if I were them I'd air that episode of Burke's Law, I Love Lucy, The Rookies...along with his major hits that are not on TV: Starsky & Hutch, The Mod Squad, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Matt Houston, Hotel, SWAT, TJ Hooker, Family...maybe an episode of the short-lived Life with Lucy to go along with I Love Lucy. And maybe throw in the TV-movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. They should do a nice 24-hour tribute at least. I think I came up with 18 hours right there. I will certainly let you know if TV Land or any other network do tributes.
Mr. Spelling will certainly be missed and his shows will live on forever on TV and DVD. He was 83.

Moving on to DVD news. Sony Pictures Home Enterainment will release two shows starring Meredith Baxter on Sept. 5. The one year wonder Bridget Loves Bernie. The sitcom starred Meredith Baxter, David Birney and Audra Lindley. Also, they will release the first two seasons of the family drama Family, which of course was produced by Aaron Spelling. Full details will be out on TVShowsonDVD.com on Monday when Sony officially announces it.
Also, VEI, the Canadian home entertainment company, has told us they have delayed The Stockard Channing Show set to the fall at the earliest. Why? Because they are working on bringing us better masters. That is a good reason and should be worth the wait. They have also let me know they are working on season 2 of the sitcom Gimme a Break! It should be out before year's end! And maybe shortly after that they will bring us season 3 of Kate & Allie! No idea if Universal will release these before VEI, but VEI seems like they will release them. Stay tuned for further updates.

'Two & a Half Men' Sold To Locals For Reruns in 2007; 'Futurama' Back For New Episodes; Remembering Richard Stahl

Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution has taken the first step toward harvesting a smashing $3 million per episode from Two & a Half Men by selling rerun rights to the Tribune Broadcasting TV stations. The Tribune stations, led by WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles and WGN (local) Chicago, will be able to start running the half-hour episodes of "Men" in the fall of 2007, as many as 12 times a week (during the first three years of the contract).
As we mentioned before, Warner will let each Tribune station stream five episodes of the sitcom on its Web site each week as a freebie to Internet surfers. The revenues from any advertising time within these Internet runs will be split between Warner and Tribune, and other material will be added to the episodes, like outtakes and bloopers. The Tribune locals are losing rights to Everybody Loves Raymond in March 2008 to the Fox-owned channels, so this is a major acquisition for Tribune.
The Tribune local stations will have exclusive streaming-video rights to Men for three years, and then they'll have to share the run with whichever cable network buys the rights. We think TBS is the likely buyer because it has cable rights to most of the major sitcoms (Raymond, Friends, Seinfeld, Family Guy). The cable deal would start in fall 2010, sharing it with TV stations in syndication. We'll keep you up to date on the cable buying for this popular sitcom.

As we reported back in October 2005, Comedy Central has bought reruns of the animated comedy Futurama starting in January 2008 for a 5-year deal. All 72 episodes were bought. But guess what? That is NOT all. Katey Sagal, one of the stars from the show, was on Craig Ferguson on Tuesday night and confirmed that new episodes will be made and will air in 2008 on Comedy Central! She was saying 13 or 16 episodes will be made. Variety reported last night that this is indeed true. They confirm it is a 13 episode deal and will start in 2008. Click here for details.

Richard Stahl, an actor whose more than 40-year career stretched from New York theater to film and television comedies such as Laverne & Shirley, has died. Stahl died Sunday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund's health center in Woodland Hills after a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease, his wife, actress Kathryn Ish, said Wednesday. Stahl guest starred on many sitcoms such as Empty Nest, Living Single, Married...with Children, Hudson Street, The Golden Girls, Good Grief, Night Court, Newhart, Who's the Boss?, Family Ties, The Facts of Life, Barney Miller, Love Sidney, Benson, What's Happening!!, House Calls, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Happy Days, On the Rocks, Maude, That's My Mama, Good Times, Archie Bunker's Place, The Tom Show, The Partridge Family, Harry and the Hendersons, All in the Family, That Girl, Love American Style and Soap. Was that enough for you? He also was a series regular on the '80s sitcom It's a Living and short lived sitcoms Turnabout starring Sharon Gless and Struck by Lightning. And had recurring roles on The Odd Couple and Laverne & Shirley. Mr. Stahl will certainly be missed as his face has been seen on various TV shows over the past 40 years. Mr. Stahl was 74.

Stay tuned tomorrow for DVD news regarding The Stockard Channing Show and Gimme a Break!

Romano On HBO Single-Camera Sitcom?; TVGuide Buys JumptheShark.com

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano could be back on a sitcom soon--this time on HBO and on a single-camera sitcom, rather than the traditonal kind. Romano is looking to return to television as the lead in an HBO limited comedy series from Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran (both are creators of 24). Talks are under way for the 10-episode single-camera project, now in early stages, that would star Romano as a fortysomething billionaire who has six months to live. The character rings close to Romano's real-life status as a fortysomething who has amassed a fortune from acting on his hit CBS series as well as from his ownership stake in the show, which continues its successful run in syndication. We will keep you up to date on this news.

B&C is reporting that Gemstar-TV Guide has purchased the television Website www.jumptheshark.com, which made its mark by chronicling when TV shows have hit their peak. The term “Jump the Shark” comes from the Happy Days episode where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while on water-skis, which is looked upon as the beginning of the end for the hit show. Gemstar-TV Guide will develop and promote the content across its media platforms, and site creator John Hein will lend his editorial voice to TV Guide’s magazine, cable network and Website. Does this mean that JumptheShark.com has "jumped the shark?" Only time will tell...

Stay tuned in the coming days for some DVD news, a book review (from According to Jim star Jim Belushi), more 4th of July marathon weekend updates, a French version of The Office, and so much more! So, don't forget to visit us tomorrow and this weekend!

'Three's Company' Nights Marathon On TV Land Now a 48-Hour Marathon; Fox Announces Fall 2006 Premiere Dates

We have yet more good news for fans of Three's Company! TV Land has now expanded the "nights" marathon this weekend to a full throttle 48-hour marathon! So join Jack, Janet, Chrissy, Cindy, Terri, The Ropers, Mr. Furley and Larry for some zany action! Also, Three's Company Friday night marathons will now be 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. starting June 30. They are replacing the Friday 11:30 p.m. Benson episode, so they can air Three's Company non-stop from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. This Friday (June 23), the marathon will be from 12 to 4 a.m., with the regular 11 p.m. airing, too. Three's Company is back in a big way on TV Land after a 7 month hiatus from the regular line-up! For the marathon line-up and all the upcoming episodes on TV Land, check out my Three's Company page and click on the On TV: TV Land section!

Fox again will start all their series before the actual fall premiere week (which this year is the week of Sept. 18). They will start on August 21 with the season premiere of Prison Break, followed by the series premiere of Vanished. The two new sitcoms 'Til Death and Happy Hour debut on Thursdays on Sept. 7. Only two fall series will join the fall line-up after the official fall premiere week, they are The O.C. and Trading Spouses. Spouses will get its Friday birth on October 6 when the summer reality show Duets ends. While The O.C. will premiere after baseball ends I guess starting Thursday, November 2. For the full fall premiere dates list for Fox, click here.

'Three's Company' Back On TV Land Line-Up; Screech Needs Your Help!

Three's Company will be knocking on TV Land's door again starting tomorrow. It will return to the line-up airing every night at 11 p.m. Benson shifts to 11:30 p.m. replacing All in the Family, which will still air in its other slots. Three's Company also will air Friday nights from 12-4AM, replacing Miami Vice, who will now be on hiatus. And don't forget TV Land's "Three's Company Nights" marathon this weekend from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday!
Three's Company had always done well on both Nick@Nite and TV Land, and had to take a break because they were running low on airplays per episode. Now it is back for more action and could be better than ever! Tune in starting tomorrow night, only on TV Land! For more information and to discuss this last minute change, click here.

I'm sure many of you already know, but I had to cover this whole Screech story because it is sitcom related, I guess. Dustin Diamond, best known as geeky Screech Powers from Saved by the Bell, is selling T-shirts with his photo on them to try to raise $250,000 so he doesn't lose his gray two-story house under a foreclosure order, according to the Associated Press.
Diamond, 29, is trying to sell nearly 30,000 shirts at $15 or $20 (autographed) each to supplement the income he makes as a standup comic so he doesn't have to move from his Port Washington home, about 25 miles north of Milwaukee.
The T-shirt has a photo of Diamond holding a sign that says, "Save My House." The back of the shirt reads, "I paid $15.00 to save Screeech's house." The third "e" was added to get around copyright laws, he said.
He's selling the shirts on his Web site: http://www.getdshirts.com. If you're a fan of him or the show, I guess you can help him out.

TV Land & Nick@Nite August 2006 Highlights; YouTube.com With Unaired Sitcom Pilot, Nice 'Perfect Strangers' Clips

TV Land and Nick@Nite have released their August highlights to us today. For TV Land, the season finale of My First Time will air on August 2, featuring Mr. T and Cybill Shepherd. The Friday Night Movie block comes to an end in August with movies airing on August 4 and 18, both will be followed by a special Happy Days episode. And TV Land has two more new episodes of TV Land Top 10 in August featuring the top 10 musical moments and the 10 cops. The Top 10 Cops episode will have a special themed block right after it with episodes of Andy Griffith and Night Court. That will be the only way to see Night Court after July 1, pending any last minite changes. For all the details on TV Land August click here. A reminder that The Jeffersons are coming to TV Land with a Labor Day Weekend launch. We will have more on that later.
As for Nick@Nite in August, they will continue their annual summer marathons until August 25 (it starts July 17). Three more new Hi-Jinks episodes will air on Tuesdays. And Nick@Nite will head back to school on August 20 with a six episode marathon featuring shows such as Cosby Show, A Different World and Mad About You. As soon as the summer marathons are over, the following Monday Nick@Nite will formally launch A Different World with a five-night marathon. What better way to start the school year than with A Different World! For episode info and more on Nick@Nite August, click here.
We might have more on TV Land (and perhaps Nick@Nite) tomorrow, so come on back. Don't know what yet, but something maybe.

The New York Post is reporting that YouTube.com has the pilot episode of Nobody's Watching - a clever 'Truman Show - like sitcom from the creator of Scrubs and two writers from Family Guy that never made it onto NBC or The WB in 2005. It unexpectedly turned up last week on YouTube, the Web video site on which homemade movies and video clips are posted every day. The show tells the story of a pair of sitcom junkies from Ohio who are drafted by The WB to write a sitcom while living on a sitcom set on a studio lot.
The show was originally written for NBC, which turned it down, and later filmed for The WB, which also eventually turned the pilot down. After that, Nobody's Watching was sent to the rubbish pile...where no one would be um ...watching.
Besides Nobody's Watching, there are scores of pilot episodes hidden on YouTube, including copies of Charmed, Zoey 101 and even an unaired Munsters revival from 1988. You can watch the pilot for Nobody's Watching by clicking here. NBC and The WB probably thought that nobody was ever going to watch it, but they're wrong!

Speaking of YouTube, a huge Perfect Strangers fan named Linda Kay has put up three very good clip packages for the show. Linda has been a fan of the show since the show's original run on ABC from 1986-93 and owns every episode on tape from ABC. She ran the fan club back then, too. And she has a whole lot of cool related stuff from the show. She plans to make a website for the show and I personally can't wait for her to do it! I am very impressed by the clips and by her knowledge of the show. You can view the clip packages here: Package 1. Package 2. Package 3.
And she says she made two more during the original run that she will put on YouTube very soon, too. The clips are very entertaining and match the music very well. It is a must see!

Summer Week 3 Sitcom Ratings

Dog days of summer have begun. Week 3 Summer Ratings: Sitcom Edition:

Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 6.64 million, good for first in its slot.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 6.45 million, up from previous two repeats by a lot.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.87 million tuned for an encore, more than two million more from last week.
• New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 8.18 million, down 500,000 viewers from last week's repeat.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends, Half & Half (UPN) - Repeats of these sitcoms were all over 2 million. Nice job this week.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - Aired before the NBA game in most markets, but after the game out west Did 4.62 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 4.4 million, down a bit from previous week.
  
• Freddie (ABC) - 4.05 million, slightly down from last week.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 5.46 million, down from all the episodes that aired last week.
• The Office (NBC) - 4.98 million for a rebroadcast.
  
• That '70s Show (Fox) 2 eps - 3.25 million at 8 p.m., but jumped to 4.33 million at 8:30, as viewers were probably waiting for So You Think You Can Dance or the NBA Finals.
  
• Everybody Hates Chris, Love Inc, Eve, Cuts (UPN) - Chris only did well with 2.58 million and the others ranged from 1.24-1.6 million--ouch.

Friday Sitcoms

• What I Like About You, Twins, Reba, Living with Fran (The WB) - All dead last place. Reba was the highest rated one obviously. The rest are canceled shows scoring a 1.0 and 1.1 rating.
  
• Hope & Faith (ABC) - Two episodes averaged only 2.7/5 rating, good for second in its slot, though as Fox is dead with repeats of 24 and NBC keeps repeating Windfall like everyday.

Sitcoms tonight (Sunday) are...two more Reba episodes on The WB from 7 to 8, Fox with Malcolm in the Middle at 7 followed by the animated comdies from 7:30 to 9:30 and a Fox airing of the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at 9:30.

Celebrating Father's Day: What Top 60 TV Dads Earn!

Ever wondered how much TV dads earn? CNN Money and Salary.com have now calculated what the top 60 paid TV dads would earn today. When it comes to being a favorite father on the small screen, the paycheck and glamour factor of a character's job has increased over time, according to Salary.com, which released its TV Dad Salary Analysis in honor of Father's Day. Today's TV dads average salaries of $195,000 after adjusting for inflation, according to Salary.com. By contrast, the favorite TV fathers of the 1950s made an average of about $75,000 a year in today's dollars. Two dads from TV primetime soaps--Blake Carrington of Dynasty and J.R. Ewing of Dallas top the list. But are they really known as TV dads? At #3 is Diff'rent Strokes dad Philip Drummond at over 720,000 a year as President of his company. George Jefferson of The Jeffersons is at #5 and Dr. Cliff Huxtable of The Cosby Show is at #12. I never would have thought that George made more than Cliff. Some other famous TV dads over $100,000 a year include: Walter Findley of Maude, Tim Taylor of Home Improvement, Jason Seaver of Growing Pains, and Danny Tanner of Full House. At the "high" middle class level we have Home Simpson at $65,000 a year--who knew he made that much! Others include Andy Taylor of The Andy Griffith Show, Darrin Stevens of Bewitched, and Henry Mitchell of Dennis the Menace all over $50,000, but less than $100,000 a year. At the regular middle class level (about 40-$50,000 a year) we have Howard Cunningham of Happy Days, Carl Winslow of Family Matters, Herman Munster of The Munsters, Ray Barone of Everybody Loves Raymond, Ward Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver, Archie Bunker of All in the Family, Mike Brady of The Brady Bunch, and Steve Keaton of Family Ties. At below middle class we have Fred G. Sanford of Sanford & Son, Al Bundy of Married...with Children, Tony Micelli of Who's the Boss?, all less than $30,000 a year. At the bottom of the list is the unemployed James Evans, Sr. of Good Times making...well, nothing at all.
See the article and the entire top 60 TV dad salary list here.

TV One Weddings Marathon; 'Family Ties' Marathon in Philly

TV Land just had a three night wedding marathon in primetime, now TV One will have a whole day on weddings! TV One salutes June brides with weddings from Amen, 227, Martin, Good Times and In The House in the "Marry Me" Marathon on Saturday, June 17 from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. only on TV One! See Florida tie the knot again on Good Times, old Rolly marrying on Amen, Thelma marrying Rueben on Amen, and will Sandra marry Brenda's math teacher on 227? Find all that and much much more on TV One's "Marry Me" Marathon!
The following is the full line-up:

12:00pm/12:00am Good Times Episode 601, Florida's Homecoming
12:30pm/12:30am Good Times Episode 602, Florida's Homecoming Pt.2
1:00pm /1:00am Good Times Episode 603, Florida's Homecoming, Pt. 3
1:30pm 1:30am Good Times Episode 604, Florida's Homecoming, Pt. 4
2:00pm Amen Episode 8709, Rolly's Proposal
2:30pm Amen Episode 8710, Rolly's Wedding
3:00pm 227 Episode 315, Teach Me Tonight, Pt. I
3:30pm 227 Episode 316, Teach Me Tonight, Pt. II
4:00pm Martin Episode 326, The Wedding Bell Blues Pt.1
4:30pm Martin Episode 327, The Wedding Bell Blues Pt.2
5:00pm /2:00am In the House Episode 422, My Pest Friend's Wedding
5:30pm/2:30am Amen Episode 8902, The Engagement
6:00pm /3:00am Amen Episode 8907, Thelma Says "I Do"
6:30pm /3:30am Amen Episode 8914, The Wedding
7:00pm/4:00am 227 Episode 519, Do Not Pass Go, Pt. I
7:30pm /4:30am 227 Episode 520, Do Not Pass Go, Pt. II
8:00pm/5:00am Amen Episode 8720, A Slight Case Of Murder, Pt. 1
8:30pm /5:30am Amen Episode 8721, A Slight Case Of Murder, Pt. 2
9:00pm Martin Episode 326, The Wedding Bell Blues Pt.1
9:30pm Martin Episode 327, The Wedding Bell Blues Pt.2

In Philadelphia? Well, if you are you can catch a special Family Ties marathon on WPSG-57! Remember Reaganomics? Head back to the 80s with Michael J. Fox, Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross and Justine Bateman for the Family Ties Marathon, Saturday June 17, beginning at 2 PM through 10 PM on WPSG-57 on Father's Day Weekend! Sixteen episodes of the 1982-89 sitcom air, beginning with I Never Killed for My Father, in which a visit from Steven's father prompts a predictable confrontation between the two. The rest of the episodes are: Margin of Error, Diary of a Young Girl, Anniversary Waltz, Lost Weekend, Keaton and Son, Cry Baby, Nothing but a Man, Mrs. Wrong (1), Mrs. Wrong (2), Battle of the Sexes (1), Battle of the Sexes (2), My Buddy, Heartstrings (1), Heartstrings (2), Heartstrings (3). The latter is a touching tale when Steven suffers a heart attack, and his son Alex begins to ponder his own morality. It is a must marathon to watch if you are in Philly!