Fox Delays 'Til Death's New Slot for Reality Quiz Show; ABC's 10th Season of 'The Bachelor', Other Notes

Rookie sitcom 'Til Death was slated to move to Wednesdays at 9:30pm in late February (with a special two-night premiere following American Idol on Tues., Feb. 27 and Wed., Feb. 28 at 9:30pm), but Fox has decided to go with the new Mark Burnett reality-quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? for those two nights (Feb. 27 and 28). Wednesday, March 7 Fox will have a special preview (as we mentioned before) of new drama The Wedding Bells following American Idol, so the earliest 'Til Death can premiere in its Wednesday at 9:30pm slot will be March 14 now.
As for Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, after those two special half-hour episode previews, it will move to Thursdays for its other four episodes. Episode three and on will be 1-hour episodes. Episodes 3 and 4 airs Thursday, March 1 and Thursday, March 8 at 9pm, following special Thursday editions of American Idol. The final two episodes will be on its own and will air March 15 and 22 at 8pm.

ABC will bring back The Bachelor back for its second installment of the season this April, and tenth installment overall. The series will air 90-minutes now on Mondays at 9:30PM-11:00PM, following the 90-minute performance show of the mega-hit Dancing with the Stars. This could be just what The Bachelor needs, a big boost, as the ratings have gone down but still did respectable. The premiere is set for Monday, April 2 and the official title for this installment is The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman. So, what happens to the current ABC Monday series (Wife Swap, Supernanny, and What About Brian)? Well, What About Brian will finish its 19-episode season on March 26 with a two-hour Dancing with the Stars performance show as its lead-in. The season premiere of Dancing with the Stars on March 19 will also lead into What About Brian. ABC is very keen on Brian, and they seem to want to bring it back next season. I don't blame hem, it is a very hot show. I'm not sure yet if Wife Swap and Supernanny will also finish their seasons in March or not, but I think Wife Swap probably will. Supernanny just started in January, so it might be heading to another night, possibly Tuesdays at 8?
With all this news, it looks like new sitcom Notes from the Underbelly will probably not air at all now. If it does, it'll probably be in the Wednesday comedy block, but it wouldn't fit in there because they are mostly male and family oriented. No news yet on Traveler or October Road, but I'm certain they will debut in March or April. Oprah's first reality project could be Tuesdays at 8 if Supernanny doesn't get that. Interesting stuff.
Also, ABC made some changes to its Feb. sweep Saturday plans. Feb. 10 from 9-11pm was the movie Legally Blonde 2, but now will be the movie Bringing Down the House, which was originally slated for Feb. 17. Feb. 17 is now an encore of Castaway from 8-11pm, replacing a Blooper special and Bringing Down the House.

Not One, But Two 'Cosby Show' DVD Sets Coming; Network February Sweep Programming

The Cosby Show has had two season DVD sets come out so far, both from Urban Works, but now due to some behind the scene stuff that I won't get into, First Look Home Entertainment will release the series, along with spin-off A Different World. This June, First Look will release Seasons 3 AND Season 4 of The Cosby Show on DVD! Wow! Double the fun and double the excitement for sitcom fans! There is no word yet on when A Different World Season 2 will come out, but I'm sure we could expect it sometime this year. Both Cosby Show & A Different World had syndicated copies for the season one sets, but I don't think First Look will gives us new sets for those with the broadcast versions, though Urban Works did give us season 2 of Cosby Show unedited, so I'm sure seasons 3 and 4 will be unedited.
We will keep you up to date.

It's almost sweeps time. The second sweep period (which is February) for the 2006-07 season will be underway this Thursday from Feb. 1-28. The networks are all ready and CBS and Fox look to be going head-to-head to the finish. CBS will be inflated because of the Super Bowl and Fox will get a 1000% increase I bet from November sweeps, because of American Idol. ABC will also be solid, but probably a bit down from November sweeps because Dancing with the Stars is not on, but certainly it will do well with top shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Ugly Betty. Meanwhile NBC will probably not do as well because they don't have the NFL to carry it, though rookie hit Heroes is a bright spot, as other rookies have bombed or dying (Friday Night Lights, Studio 60). The CW will probably be on par from November.
Anyway, to read about each network's Feb. sweep plans, see below:
ABC February 2007 Sweep
CBS February 2007 Sweep
NBC February 2007 Sweep
Fox February 2007 Sweep
The CW February 2007 Sweep - nothing released to us yet.

Full Episodes of 'Jim', Unaired 'Daybreak' Episodes Added to ABC.com; 13th Annual SAG Awards Winners; 'Reba' to End Feb. 18

ABC.com's Free Full Episode Player has just added According to Jim. The four latest episodes will be available online for free for the veteran sitcom that is moving to 9 PM now starting this Wednesday.
They have also re-added Daybreak with all the aired episodes, and also they will add an unaired episode each Monday for the next three weeks! The show is quite addicting and well written, so if you have not seen the show...you're in for a great ride! You can watch all the aired ones and then you can catch up to the unaired ones. I think they have added three or four unaired ones today, with more coming each Monday for the next three weeks. And if you didn't know, a few weeks back ABC.com added rookie drama Men in Trees to their player. They negotiated with Warner Bros., and the deal finally came through, but only the current week's episode is available, along with the series' pilot. So, if you miss the episode, you have a week to watch it.
Other series besides the new ones on the full player are: Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, What About Brian, Brothers & Sisters, The Knights of Prosperity, Six Degrees and Lost--all from Touchstone Television.

TNT and TBS aired the 13th Annual SAG Awards last night. Here are the television series winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Hugh Laurie, House - Dr. Gregory House FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy - Dr. Miranda Bailey ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock - Jack Donaghy NBC

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty - Betty Suarez ABC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Grey's Anatomy, ABC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
The Office, NBC

Some notes: Reba will end its run with two episodes, including the series finale, on Sunday Feb. 18 from 7-8 p.m. on The CW. CBS has canceled low rated reality series Armed & Famous after getting whacked by American Idol, repeats of CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds will take its slot (Wed at 8) until Jericho returns Feb. 14.
In syndication news, EXTRA has been renewed at least through the 2009-10 season, with 95% clearance. Meanwhile, The Greg Behrendt Show will not see a second season, and will likely be replaced by Steve Wilkos' show coming this fall.
And we remember classic TV writer Bob Carroll, Jr. He wrote on all of Lucille Ball's sitcoms: I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy. He died Saturday and also wrote for classic sitcoms such as Alice, Mothers in Law, Paul Lynde Show, and the short lived sitcom Dorothy. Carroll, Jr. was 88.

Shout! Factory DVD News, Includes 'Ozzie & Harriet', 'That Girl', 'Batfink', 'Bill Cosby Show'

For the second week in a row we do not have final numbers yet for this week, so I have decided not to do the ratings blog again. If you want to see last week's final numbers, I have posted them on our General Sitcoms board. I'll post this week's probably Tuesday, when final week numbers are out.
I hope we get final numbers next week, so we can bring that back to you. Sorry about this.

Anyway, we have some news for you on this Sunday. Shout! Factory has some DVDs coming in May and June, that might be of note to you. They will release the classic sitcom Ozzie & Harriet on May 1, in a best of volume for $34.98. What wonderful news! That Girl Season 3 will be streeting on May 29 for $39.98. It is nice that they are releasing that classic sitcom at a nice pace!
In the long range forecast for Shout!, they will release the classic animated series Batfink on June 19 in a complete series set for $34.98. Also that day Shout! will release the second season DVD of The Bill Cosby Show for $39.98.
And we all know they have McHale's Navy coming March 20 and Ironside on April 24. They look to be releasing great stuff!

Mini-DVD Review: Benny Hill Show Set 6: The Hill's Angels Years (Jan. 30)

Welcome to another edition of Saturday mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at A&E Home Video's The Benny Hill Show Set 6. You'll have a blast watching this show because it will leave you laughing until you die. See for yourself by reading our review. See My review of The Benny Hill Show Set 6.

The Benny Hill Show, Complete And Unadulterated: The Hill's Angels Years - Set 6 (A&E, $49.95) brings the final 8 episodes from the classic British series to DVD. This set is available on a three-disc set that contains 8 classic hours from 1986-1989. Hill's Angels are back and they are so good. Benny got even naughtier when they arrived, as we found out on the last set! Each episode runs about 50-51 minutes. See funny skits such as Benny as Fred Scuttle, Benny's Quickie, Benny's Ballad, and tons of Hill's Angels skits.
Packaging is very similar to the first five sets--box with three slim cases. The set again has special features. "Hill's Angels in Conversation" runs 10:04 and is produced by A&E and has interviews with some of the Hill's Angels--they share a lot and it is very interesting to watch. Then there is the little trivia game you can play titled "The Benny Hill Cheeky Challenge Trivia Quiz #6." I think there are 15 questions for you to answer. The menu screen has video clips to start off then the main menu comes, and the art is like the cover art. The theme doesn't loop. Episode numbers are on each main menu then when selected, you get to a skit selection screen, or you can just play the episode straight through. Chapter skips are also there, if you need them. I liked the 1982-1989 years the best, so the last two sets have been very good to me, because I liked Benny Hill even better in the 1980s years, as I'm sure many others do, too. Don't show this to little kids, because Benny is very naughty! So go chase after Benny to the video store to buy this set or chase him on the web to Amazon to buy it by clicking below.
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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

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Benny Hill Show TV.com Page

i Network Renamed ION Television; ABC Swaps 'Knights' & 'Jim' on Wednesdays

i Network, which airs classic series such as Mama's Family and Growing Pains, will now be known as ION Television effective this Monday (Jan. 29), to be consistent with the company's corporate brand identity (ION Media). This move reflects the energy and vision behind the network's plans to expand its programming and viewership.
The network's new contemporary look and logo will be prominently featured on-air through a consumer-oriented promotional campaign over the next few months. Tagged "ION Television: Television in Motion," the on-air campaign will kick off with a series of promotions and image spots, as well a new on-screen network bug logo. The viewer campaign will launch on Monday, January 29th with "What's Your ION?," a web-based promotion that invites viewers to submit creative photos of themselves donning the new ION logo to be featured on the network's website, www.ionline.tv, and also on-air.
ION has seen significant gains in its primetime ratings this season, due in large part to its strategy to introduce popular movies and classic TV favorites through multiple content deals with its current partners, including Warner Bros., Sony, CBS Television and NBC Universal. View the full press release here.

I think this is a big step in expanding the hours to more than just 6-11pm. I think we will be seeing the hours expand very soon (clearly says it is expanding in the press release), maybe in the coming months. Let's hope we see shows like Perfect Strangers, Silver Spoons, Wonder Years, Diff'rent Strokes, and some other favorites not being aired currently, very soon!
We will of course keep you posted on anything ION Television (aka: i Network, aka PAX Television).

In order to strengthen the flow of the ABC Wednesday night line-up, effective this Wednesday (January 31), The Knights of Prosperity will move to 8:30 PM ET/PT and According to Jim will move to 9:00 PM ET/PT until further notice. George Lopez will remain at 8:00PM and In Case of Emergency at 9:30PM.
Also, for those of you who missed the second episode of The Knights of Prosperity that aired on January 10 due to President Bush's speech messing up the timing, ABC will re-air this episode this Tuesday (Jan. 30) at 9:30 PM, after the finale of Big Day.
On the first Wednesday of February Sweep (Feb. 7), According to Jim & In Case of Emergency will be pre-empted during the 9:00PM hour for a Lost Survivor Guide clip show hosted by the producers, which will lead into the return of Lost at 10:00PM! Can't wait!

TV Land March Highlights, Includes Three's Company Mini Marathon and To Be Continued Free Fridays; Mary Tyler Moore Show Reunion at SAG Awads

It was only yesterday we released the February schedule for TV Land (we've had it posted in our message board for a while but was waiting for official confirmation to post it here), and today TV Land has officially released the March 2007 schedule. We mentioned yesterday that The Munsters and The Addams Family are coming back to TV Land in March and today that is official! The Munsters will air weekdays at 11am and weekends at 8:30am, while The Addams Family will air weekdays at 12 noon. Weekend mornings will see an extreme makeover, with westerns ruling the mornings now, too. The westerns (Bonanza, Gunsmoke) will air weekends from 6am-8pm, except the 8am hour which will have Flip Wilson & The Munsters. Gone from weekend mornings and the schedule completely are Cheers, 227, Benson, Wings, Night Court, and Highway to Heaven. TV Land has released the contracts reportedly for 227 and Benson, both were set to expire in May 2008, but they have switched that for The Munsters and The Addams Family from The Program Exchange.
Among the highlights include Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg season two continuing all month long; To Be Continued Fridays, catch multiple part episodes back-to-back just like a movie, shows like The Jeffersons & Brady Bunch in Hawaii, and more! Finally, the monthly mini-marathon for March is Three's Company! Catch Jack enter a bake-off, meeting Cindy for the first time, and more!
To view the complete March details, click HERE.

The cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, will reunite to hand out the best ensemble in a comedy series Screen Actors Guild award.
Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Georgia Engel, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Gavin MacLeod and Betty White are all scheduled to be on hand for the Jan. 28 ceremonies at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. Dick Van Dyke is also scheduled to be in attendance, so it will also be a reunion of the two main stars of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

TV Land February Highlights, Addams & Munsters Return in March; CHiPs DVD Coming in May

TV Land has officially released its February highlights and we have them for you! They will make no schedule changes, as of now, of course, but there will be a lot of specials and marathons. The three-part special That's What I'm Talking About will re-air for Black History Month on Feb. 3. Myths & Legends continues with its final two episodes of the season on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14, before making way for season two of Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. This year David sits down with legendary comedians such as Roseanne, Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, and Garry Shandling. These celebrated performers offer hilarious stories about their personal lives and careers in the entertainment field. Don’t miss this change to get up, close, and personal with some of comedies favorite stars!
Finally we have a Valentine's Day marathon of The Cosby Show on Feb. 8 and again on Feb. 14. Good Times will get the monthly mini-marathon weekend slot on Feb. 17.
To view the full highlights, click HERE.
And as a preview for March, TV Land has given word that The Munsters and The Addams Family are returning to TV Land! Details soon, but get ready!

The classic '70s cop show CHiPs is coming to DVD this spring! Warner Home Video has set a May release date. This is great news for fans of that show, as this show has been anticipated for so long on DVD. Take this as unofficial news until WHV actually announces it, which could be very soon. So put those thumbs up, and join Erik Estrada this May!

Nick at Nite February Highlights Sees Growing Pains and Tuesday Night Movies; NFL AFC Championship Game Scores Big for CBS

Nick at Nite has finally announced its full February plans. Like we mentioned before, Growing Pains will launch on Monday, Feb. 12. The launch will be a 7 night marathon (Feb. 12-18) and will be all-night long! That's Mon-Thurs 9pm-6am, Fri-Sat 10pm-6am and Sun 9pm-6am. Wow! Episode info is not available for the stunt yet. I would assume that half of each day will be new episodes followed by encores from the same night.
Anyway, Growing Pains will also join the regular schedule starting Feb. 19, airing Mon-Thurs back-to-back from 9-10pm, every night at 1:30am, Fri-Sat at 10:30pm, and Sundays at 9:30pm--all replacing Full House. Full House will still air every night at 1am & 5:30am, and also Fri-Sat at 10pm and Sundays at 9pm. In addition Full House will air on Nickelodeon Mon-Fri at 8:30pm starting Feb. 12.
Also on tap for Nick at Nite February are Tuesday Night movies. Airing Tuesdays at 9pm starting Feb. 20. You'll see movies like Crocodile Dundee. Click HERE to view the full Nick at Nite February details.

We shall bring you TV Land February when announced. We posted some of the highlights already on our message boards, but it is still not official.

Finally we leave you with the number one rated program of the season thus far. CBS Sports' coverage of the AFC Championship Game featuring the New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Jan. 21 (6:44-10:23 PM, ET), averaged 46.7 million viewers (26.4 rating/39 share), up +20% from 39.0 million in 2006 (Pittsburgh-Denver; 3:08-6:16 PM, ET) and up +5% from 2005's 44.3 million (New England-Pittsburgh; 6:37-9:50 PM, ET). Sunday's 46.7 million was the highest number of average viewers for the AFC Championship Game since New England-Miami on NBC in 1986 (47.5 million), over 21 years ago. The 46.7 million viewers for this year's AFC Championship Game was the most-watched non-Super Bowl program since the series finale of Friends on NBC (52.5 million on 5/6/04). The AFC Championship Game viewership peaked at 57.2 million (32.4 rating/45 share) from 10:00-10:23 PM.
To show you how big the Super Bowl is, last year the game did 90.7 million on ABC. With the NFL ratings up this year, can we see 100 million for this year's Super Bowl? We'll find out in 2 weeks.

American Life TV Network February Highlights; '70s Week on Biography Channel

AmericanLife TV Network, the only independent network devoted to the Baby Boomer generation, marks Black History Month in February, with a full slate of programs examining the Black experience, both in America and in Africa .
The network also begins a special salute to the classic ‘60s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., with the series’ original pilot film and three exciting two-part episodes.
For Black History Month, catch two memorable episodes of I'll Fly Away. Bing Crosby and Maureen O’Hara are among the guests this month on The Color Honeymooners. See actor Adam Arkin on Harry O and the final three China Beach episodes. M*A*S*H’s Wayne Rogers guest stars this month on two The F.B.I. episodes. Other highlights include Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara on The Courtship of Eddie's Father, WKRP's Loni Anderson on Harry O and Batman's Adam West on Maverick.
It looks to be an exciting February on one of the best classic TV channels. Click HERE to view the full highlights!


It's '70s week on The Biography Channel all-week in primetime. Starting tonight at 8pm with an A&E Bio on The Bee Gees. Rest of the week has a Happy Days bio on Tuesday, ABBA on Wednesday, Paul Newman on Thursday and the great Mary Tyler Moore on Friday.
And next week on The Biography Channel it is Viva La Italiano week for four nights starting Monday with an A&E Bio on Dean Martin, followed by Nicolas Cage on Tuesday, Sophia Lauren on Wednesday, and Sal Mineo on Thursday. All starting at 8pm ET (9pm PT).

George Lopez returns Wednesday at 8/7 central on ABC with its season premiere, followed by all-new hilarious episodes of According to Jim, The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. Comedy rules on ABC Wednesday. Who needs Idol?

Mini-DVD Review: Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine (Jan. 23)

Welcome to a special Sunday edition of the mini-DVD reviews. This week we take a look at Paramount Home Entertainment's Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine. Alvin & the Chipmunks is of course the hit animated series that ran from 1983-1991. It was most popular in the early-mid 80s and this set has a 1984 Valentine's episode and three mini episodes from 1988 and 1989. Cartoonist Dave Seville takes care of three chipmunks: Alvin, Simon and Theodore! See my mini-DVD review of Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine (Paramount, $14.99) brings a classic Valentine's Day episode and three additional loved-themed animated episodes. This is the third set from Paramount featuring the Chipmunks. The last set was the Halloween set. Previously we had the Christmas special release. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk feature film from 1987 on a separate set. This set has a 1984 half-hour Valentine's Day episode titled "I Love Chipmunks Valentine" that aired during the original series' run! I'm so glad they put that on here because 1983-1987 or so is the best version of the Chipmunks, I think. DiC took over after that and changed the animation. It was good, but I loved the original. The classic half-hour episode is a music-filled adventure as Alvin develops an alter ego after Brittany rejects his invitation to the Valentine Ball. In a dream state, he becomes a dashing Don Juan called Captain Chipmunk. I remember watching this and loving it every time they aired it in the rotation on TV. The set also has three loved-theme episodes from The Chipmunk years, like I mentioned. The classic "I Love Chipmunks Valentine" episode runs 24:03. The other three are mini episodes, meaning each half hour had two episodes when they originally aired, and we get one of them here. The mini-episodes on this set are: "Dr. Simon and Mr. Heart Throb" (11:26), "Dear Diary" (11:16) and "Theodore and Juliet" (11:48). Only one of the three mini episodes have closing credits, as they probably were the first episodes of the half-hour. No chapter stops. Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous sets--a nice case. The menu screen has Play All and Episode Selection, with a song from the Chipmunks in the background. A colorful menu with the Chipmunks and the Chipettes. When we go to episode selection, the episodes are listed with a screenshot from the episode. The menu is designed quite well and is easy to navigate. The video and audio are decent and very watchable. The classic 1984 special episode looks very good, but not as good as the mini-episodes. I hope we get full season episodes in the future starting with the 1983 episodes. I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. New fans might also want to, but I am hoping Paramount (or any other studio) releases the series on DVD in order with the classic episodes, and not just select episodes from The Chipmunks years. I like the old style animation the series had on NBC from 1983-87, and glad to see it for once on these DVDs. So, hopefully we get the series on DVD from the start next, but for now go out and buy this set to make that happen before Brittany doesn't accept Alvin's invitation to the Valentine Ball!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Alvin & the Chipmunks TV.com Page
Chipmunks.com

Our regular ratings blog will return next Sunday, as I didn't have final numbers and I hate using the prelim fast nationals.

TCA Winter Press Tour: Fox; CW to End 'Reba'; Remembering Barney Miller's Ron Carey

The final day of the TCA Winter Press Tour brings Fox up to the plate. They have announced their spring schedule and have a lot of new times and new shows. So, let's get it started right away...
Freshman sitcom 'Til Death is making a move to Wednesdays at 9:30, following American Idol. After special post-Idol airings on Tuesday, Feb. 27 and Wednesday, Feb. 28 (both at 9:30 PM), the time period premiere is Wednesday, March 14.
Sitcom The War at Home is moving back to Sundays, but this time at 7:30. The show premieres in its new time period Sunday, March 4 (7:30-8:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. New sitcom The Winner, from creator Seth MacFarlane, debuts with two episodes on Sunday, March 4 at 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM and it will air for three consecutive Sundays at 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM, finishing its 6-episode order in just three weeks. King of the Hill will return to 8:30 PM on March 25 after three weeks off, as will American Dad at 9:30 PM.
Fox will debut a mid-season drama from David E. Kelley called The Wedding Bells on Friday, March 9 at 9 PM, but first it will give it a sneak preview Wednesday, March 7, After American Idol at 9 PM.
Freshman drama Standoff will move to a new night and time on Friday, March 30 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).
Finally, the new action drama Drive, created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen, takes viewers for a wild ride when a diverse group of people, all with different motives and secrets, participate in an underground cross-country road race. Drive revs up the schedule with a two-hour series premiere Sunday, April 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and time period premiere Monday, April 16 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Prison Break's season would have ended a week before. Fox has confirmed at the tour that that show will return next season for a third season.
This is not all Fox will air in mid-season. Thursdays is still TBD, but rumor has it that Hell's Kitchen is coming to Thursdays at 9 PM, but Fox didn't announce that today. Also, on Fox's mid-season docket, but not announced yet are returning sitcom The Loop, new reality/game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, reality show On the Lot (that could be moved to summer now), and reality show Woman Rule the World. Nanny 911 and Trading Spouses looks like will end early, with Nanny probably ending after its March 23 airing and Spouses ending after its March 2 airing, with the new Fox Friday by March 30 of Standoff & The Wedding Bells.
One final note, Fox will have two episodes of 24 on Monday, Feb. 12. Day Six: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM and Day Six: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM airing Monday, Feb. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the nation continues to reel from the terrorist attacks and Agent Bauer battles unthinkable circumstances.

The CW confirmed late yesterday that long running sitcom Reba will end with a two-part series finale this season. So, it looks like a wrap for that sitcom, unless it pulls a 7th Heaven and comes back.

We leave you today with some sad news, actor Ron Carey passed away this past Tuesday. Ron Carey, the short and puckish comedic actor is best known for his role as Officer Carl Levitt on the hit sitcom Barney Miller. He was also a member of Mel Brooks' troupe in films such as High Anxiety and Silent Movie. Carey died of a stroke Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The 5-foot-7 Carey became a semi-regular on ABC's Barney Miller in 1976, the second year of the sitcom that starred Hal Linden, and remained with the show until it ended in 1982. The Newark, NJ native also co-starred in the series Lucky Luke in 1993. He also had a role in the short-lived ABC sitcom produced by John Ritter called Have Faith in 1989. He also was on two short lived sitcoms in the '70s--The Montefuscos (1975) for NBC and The Corner Bar (1972-73) for ABC. He has guest starred on sitcoms such as Benson, Alice, New Love American Style.
Carey, probably not known by many by his name, certainly will be remembered by his role on Barney Miller by sitcom fans. He will be missed. He was 71.

We will have our Saturday mini-DVD review tomorrow on a special Sunday edition. We might not have our regular Sunday ratings blog tomorrow because we don't have access to final numbers for this week yet. So, I might not do it, or I'll just fast nationals. We'll see...but certainly come by tomorrow for the mini-review.

TCA Winter Press Tour: The CW; TV Land Brings Back 'Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg'

The CW is up today at the TCA Winter Press Tour. The CW wants to bring back Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars next season, but no decision has been made. And if 7th Heaven is not coming back, it will have another series finale...funny. No decision yet on One Tree Hill, Supernatural or Reba. The only locks I think are America's Next Top Model, Smallville, and Everybody Hates Chris. Everything else's chances will probably depend on the development of new shows and how they are. And The O.C. will NOT be picked up by The CW after Fox just canceled it. Thought I would make that clear, The CW did consider it, but passed.
Like ABC's Full Episode Player on abc.com, The CW will get into that business now. The CW will stream episodes of Beauty and the Geek, Supernatural, Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill, Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends and The Game on CWTV.com effective immediately. And like ABC's, the latest four episodes will be available.
The network is giving Everybody Hates Chris a full-season order for 2007-08. Fans will breathe a sigh of relief for sure, as it was not a given this show would be back next season since the ratings have been down this year.
Coming up in mid-season: America's Next Top Model will launch its eighth run on Wednesday, February 28 with a two-hour premiere at 8 pm. Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll will premiere Tuesday, March 6 at 9 pm and will air for six weeks in place of Veronica Mars, which will return in late April for its final episodes of the season. The network has not announced yet a premiere date for mid-season drama Hidden Palms, but they said they will very soon. I'm betting Wednesdays at 9 to give One Tree Hill a breather. The network is planning Crowned, an eight-episode competition in which mother-daughter teams pair to try and win a beauty pageant. A yet-to-be-announced celebrity mother-daughter pair will be among the judges. No idea when this will premiere, maybe in the summer?

Tomorrow Fox is up, so make sure you make it to our blog for a special news Saturday. We will still have a mini-DVD review, too! It looks to be a fun Saturday indeed.

TV Land will bring back another batch of all-new episodes of talk show Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. 6 episodes have been ordered with 6 legendary guests. This six-episode series -- filmed in front of a live studio audience -- premieres with an animated and hilarious conversation with Jerry Seinfeld. Subsequent guests in this one-on-one comedy forum include Robin Williams, Roseanne Barr, Jon Stewart, Garry Shandling and Ray Romano, who entertain with funny stories about their personal lives and careers in entertainment.
The second season kicks off Wednesdays at 10pm for six weeks starting Wednesday, February 21 at 10pm (ET/PT).
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TCA Winter Press Tour: CBS; NBC Note; i Network February Highlights

CBS was up at the TCA winter press tour today. Not much news from them, other than touting they are number one in the ratings, but they have renewed Survivor for two more installments for 2007-08. CBS plans on keeping its schedule virtually untouched the remainder of the season. The February 5 debut of sitcom Rules of Engagement is the only scripted show currently slated to launch for the rest of the season, though there are some reality projects that could debut. CBS is still looking at bringing back another version of music reality show Rock Star for the summer. Big Brother will return this summer. CBS has said they are retooling The Class and focusing on the three couples, and it is still unclear if the sitcom will return next season. It will end its rookie season in early March.
CBS also detailed its Super Bowl schedule for Feb. 4. CBS will kick off its coverage at noon ET with a Road to the Super Bowl 2007 season highlight show, followed by Phil Simms All-Iron Team: The Difference Makers at 1. A four-hour pre-game show then begins at 2, featuring reports from CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, as well as Early Show anchor and former sportscaster Hannah Storm. CBS Sports' Randy Cross will be doing live cut-ins with American soldiers in Iraq. The game itself is scheduled to kick off at 6:25 p.m. ET from Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Fla.
The post-Super Bowl show will be an episode of Criminal Minds. CBS will close the day with an airing of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson following local news shows.

CBS's TCA tour so far has been the most boring, but everyone knew that. The CW goes tomorrow and Fox on Saturday, should be more livelier.
NBC made a quick note following their tour yesterday and have announced that mid-season drama Raines will now premiere on Thursday, March 15 at 10 p.m. and will air Thursdays at 10 p.m. for 2 weeks, before moving to Fridays at 9 p.m. starting March 30. Jeff Goldblum stars. The show combines creative forces in the inventive police-drama that blends traditional noir storytelling with humor and intrigue.

The i Network has announced its February schedule to us. There are no regular schedule changes, as of now. So, it will remain the same schedule. They will though have a sitcom Valentine's Week from Feb. 12-16 with sitcom episodes dealing with love & romance. Green Acres, Growing Pains, and Mama's Family are featured. There is one Amen sighting even on Feb 22 at 10:30 p.m., following the special The Making of Amazing Grace.
We will keep you up to date if anything should change, but for now click HERE to view the highlights for February.

TCA Winter Press Tour: NBC; More NATPE News; 'Growing Pains' Delayed on Nick@Nite; Mid-Week Notes

Busy day today. Well, really it is a busy last few weeks with the TCA, NATPE, and schedule changes. Today at the TCA Tour, NBC was up. They had quite a few announcements to make. They made it official today, they will add a fourth hour to their morning show Today, which means it will now air 7-11am. Wow! What's next 7am-12pm? I think they could do that, since most of the NBC Universal new shows are bombing. Anyway, this is what NBC said about adding the 4th hour of Today: On January 14, 1952, Today made history when Dave Garroway and the Today show made its network debut – the first two-hour morning program of its kind. In September, 2000, the program did it again – and expanded to three hours. And now, in the midst of an unprecedented 11 year run as the number-one morning news program, Today will once again make its mark on television history, and expand to four hours. The new hour will launch in September, 2007.
With this piece of news, NBC had to cut an hour from their daytime line-up. So, what is gone? Soap opera Passions will be canceled after August.
Heading into primetime, NBC made announcements that it has renewed some of their shows for next season (2007-08). The four series that received an early pick-up for next season are: Heroes, The Office, My Name is Earl, and Law & Order: SVU. All four will likely have at least 22 episodes next season.
NBC has picked up its popular game show Identity – hosted for one week before Christmas by Emmy Award-winning comedian-magician Penn Jillette -- for a series return in March. Seven episodes have been ordered. No timeslot or day as of yet, but it could be coming to Sundays at 8, when Grease is finished in late March. Speaking of Grease, NBC has announced two more additional episodes have been picked-up, raising it to 11 episodes.
Also at NBC will be a new reality improv-comedy. NBC has ordered six one-hour episodes of Thank God You're Here. Hosted by David Alan Grier, and presided over by judge Dave Foley, each episode of Thank God You're Here showcases the improvisational skills of a group of fearless celebrities as they compete in a battle of wits and laughter to outdo each other's performance in various unexpected situations. Jennifer Coolidge, Bryan Cranston, Joel McHale and Wayne Knight star in the pilot episode. Production on the remaining episodes is expected to resume in February with a launch set for in the spring.
Finally, Dateline: To Catch a Predator (yet again) returns for six weeks Tuesdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 30.
NBC has still not announced yet when mid-season sitcoms The Singles Table and Andy Barker, P.I. will be airing. Black Donnellys and Raines are still on target for their premieres on Mondays at 10 and Fridays at 9.

Coming up next are CBS, Fox, and The CW. CBS and Fox had some news today, but we'll make it official when they go at their respected TCA tours. So come back for that.

Just one NATPE note today. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has pulled its high-profile Celebrity Jury court strip off the market for this fall after failing to come to terms with the Fox station group on price. But the project may not be dead entirely and could make a comeback sometime later, perhaps in 2008.

Nick at Nite has announced that it will NOT premiere Growing Pains this coming Sunday now. Instead the show will now launch on Monday, February 12. No idea why the delay, but there will now be a Roseanne week next week. Jan. 22-28, nothing but Roseanne. We're also not sure yet what slots Growing Pains will air, but it is likely the same slots we reported when it was supposed to launch Jan. 21. Full House will not air at 8:30 p.m. now until Feb. 12. It was slated to air there on Jan. 22.
Also, Nick at Nite will air the Tuesday night movies in February. It was slated to start Jan. 9. with Crocodile Dundee, but they backed out.
We'll keep you updated when we get more information on the Growing Pains situation.

Now time for some mid-week notes. This is a lightning round of short news items. First and foremost, don't forget the third episode each of hilarious sitcoms The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Tonight the Knights hire a security expert to help them get passed the bodyguards. Should be fun!
The Super Bowl airs Sunday, Feb. 4 on CBS, but CBS will have Super Monday the next night with NFL legends (and Dancing with the Stars alums) Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice guest starring on the opening hour sitcoms. Emmitt on How I Met Your Mother and Jerry on The Class. Emmitt will play himself in the episode when a star-struck Barney (Neil Patrick Thomas) recognizes the former NFL great on the street. As for Jerry Rice's appearance, Duncan (Jon Bernthal) is shocked when he visits Nicole (Andrea Anders) and finds Rice and former pro-football player Yonk Allen (David Keith) working on a charity event speech together.
The CW Network and CBS Paramount Television will stream a never-before-seen episode of the critically acclaimed comedy Everybody Hates Chris on Yahoo! TV (http://tv.yahoo.com/) for one week prior to its network debut on Jan. 22. The episode, entitled "Everybody Hates Eggs," will be offered free-of-charge and without commercial interruption on Yahoo! beginning NOW. In the episode, which airs on The CW on Monday, January 22 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET), Chris (Tyler James Williams) and Greg (Vincent Martella) get a classroom lesson on parenting when they are each assigned an egg to care for as if it were their own child.

NATPE 2007 Syndication Convention; ABC Family Brings Back '7th Heaven', 'Everwood' Benched; Golden Globes Winners

Yep, it is that time of year again--NATPE 2007. This is where new syndicated shows are bought by stations and where distributors announce what shows will be renewed, among other things. NATPE convention is running Jan. 16-18 in Las Vegas. This year we have a lot of new entries like usual, including even more court shows. Why are these so popular? Sitcom wise, a few shows will be going into off-network syndication, meaning airing 5 days a week. Sitcoms include Two and a Half Men, George Lopez and Family Guy. There are other sitcoms in the run like All of Us, What I Like About You, and Half & Half, but haven't sold much yet.
This year a few dramas are even coming to 5 day a week syndication. In recent years dramas usually air only on weekends. Law & Order Criminal Intent and Baywatch will make the round back to locals, but this time 5 days a week.
As for first-run stuff. We have two talk shows so far: The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet (which is launching on Fox-owned stations next week actually) and untitled show starring Steve Wilkos from The Jerry Springer Show. There will be even a new game show called Temptations, a revival of the old Sale of the Century. Distributors are still trying to sell some other game shows, but nothing has been locked up thus yet. Three more court shows are coming it seems and TMZ.com will get into the TV newsmagazine business with its own show.
Renewals include: Twentieth Television's Divorce Court, Judge Alex and Christina’s Court. Buena Vista has renewed Live! with Regis and Kelly and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire through the 2010-2011 season. CBS Television Distribution has announced it has renewed rookie Rachel Ray through 2009-10 season. Sony's Judge Maria Lopez was renewed already, but Sony has announced it has cleared the show to 92% of the country for next fall. Sony's