TV Land Brings Back Married with Children; New RTV Station In Northwest Arkansas

We interrupt our fall schedule barrage blog posts for a special announcement! The Bundys are back! TV Land made a very last minute schedule change yesterday and aired a block of Married...with Children last night from 8:30pm-11pm. TV Land will also air the show again on Friday from 7-9pm and on Saturday a 12-hour marathon will air from 12pm-12am, replacing blocks of Green Acres and Andy Griffith. The final Green Acres block is on Aug. 22 from 6am-8:30am, as the contract for the series is expiring. So, after these special airings, Married...with Children will return to the TV Land line-up! Spike TV isn't airing it daily right now, but is scheduled to return it as of now starting Sept. 28...so it seems TV Land will air it daily until then at least. Effective next week, Married...with Children will air Tuesdays 8pm-12am, Wednesdays & Thursdays 8-10pm and Fridays 8-9pm. Essentially replacing Cosby Show and Roseanne slots. The Cosby Show's 7-8pm hour will now belong to The Beverly Hillbillies starting Monday (Aug. 17), while Cosby Show moves to 3-4am instead of another hour of Roseanne.
Also, there will be another 12-hour Married...with Children marathon on Saturday, Aug. 22 from 10am-10pm, replacing the scheduled Bonanza and Andy blocks. The series has done well for TV Land but had to be pulled because Spike TV (a sister network) was putting it back on the daily schedule. Right now Spike is only airing it Sunday mornings.
View the updated TV Land August 2009 changes. So how will this affect TV Land in September starting Sept. 14? We're not sure, but I expect changes to the original Sept. schedule. Looks like we'll have to update our TV Land fall schedule post. Will Married...with Children be a part of it? We shall see. Stay with us, as always!

KPBI-TV the full power MyNetwork TV affiliate in North West Arkansas will drop its MyNetwork TV affiliation this week and become a full-time Retro Television RTV affiliate! According to Greg Fess, President of KPBI, "I am very excited to be bringing the RTV Network to the NW Arkansas area. We love the family friendly programs that we have enjoyed over the years. We know that viewers will embrace this new programming on KPBI which has served the area for many years as a broadcasting leader."
RTV's Neal Ardman pointed to the success many full power primary stations are now having using RTV on the main channel as the primary and often only network. "We have enjoyed tremendous ratings success in several markets including Boston on WMFP, Knoxville on WMAK and WPXS in St. Louis. RTV offers what other networks can't. Along with fantastic shows like Magnum P.I. and Quincy, RTV provides most of its affiliates 24/7 centralized master control on a barter basis. The RTV model has to be the future of TV for the local station to survive," said Ardman. By providing the both the local and nation content on an individual stream the stations have little if any capitol cost in launching and the only ongoing cost is the actual cost of spot sales.

We hope to have a fall schedule for you tomorrow, pending approval. So bear with us, we are trying! We still have quite a few left to deliver.

Nick at Nite August 2009 Highlights; Retro TV Now in 89% of the U.S.

There will be no changes to the Nick at Nite August schedule that we posted on Monday. Here are the August Highlights:

George Lopez: Main Event Marathon airs on Sunday, August 2 from 9:00pm-4:00am ET/PT.
See George battle everyone! George vs. Benny, George vs. Angie, George vs. Carmen and more! It's the battle royale!

First four episodes of Glenn Martin, DDS will air Aug. 17-20 at 8PM (after new episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar) before settling into its regular Mondays at 8pm timeslot starting Aug. 24. There will be a marathon of the first four episodes on Friday, August 21 from 8-10pm ET/PT. The first four episodes will also encore on sister network Comedy Central at 6pm Tues-Fri, the next night.

Glenn Martin, DDS is the first television production to come out of Michael Eisner’s Tornante Animation Company. The original stop-motion animated series follows the life of Glenn Martin (Kevin Nealon), who yearns for a change of scenery and a deeper connection with his family. Determined to bring the family closer together, Glenn takes the Martins on a road trip to protest the destruction of a beloved childhood park. As things unravel right from the get-go, the family is forced to make the dental-mobile – replete with a giant decorative toothbrush on the roof – their new home. Glenn, Jackie (Catherine O’Hara) and Courtney (Jackie Clarke) – an 11-year-old future corporate maven who brings along her personal assistant, Wendy (Judy Greer), a 14-year-old North Korean exile – and son, Conor (Peter Oldring), the 13-year-old hormone-addled tween who’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed--quickly learn when hitting the road that the road can sometimes hit back in unexpected ways. The Martins are accompanied on their journey by the family dog, Canine, who’s pronounced buttocks only add to the hilarity.

The hilarious Parenthood will air on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 8:00pm-10:00pm ET/PT. The 1989 classic was directed by Ron Howard and stars Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moran, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reaves and many others. Parenthood is the story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, the "black sheep" of the family, the eccentrics, the skeletons in the closet, and the rebellious teenagers.

View our Nick at Nite August 2009 thread and discuss the schedule with others.

Retro TV has added many new affiliates. With these new affiliates, Retro TV's U.S. coverage is now approaching 89 percent. That's up from 75 percent at the beginning of June. They also signed an agreement to return RTV to WPXS in St. Louis. And it added WSPA Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. along with a deal to renew the existing RTV affiliations at all the other Media General stations.
Among the new stations are: WEYW Key West, FL; WAOH Cleveland; KCDO Denver; WCMH Columbus, Ohio; KCSG St. George, Utah; WITI Milwaukee; KGNG Las Vegas; KPVT Pahrump, NV; WMNM-WGMU Burlington, VT; WLCN Charleston, SC; WSEA Springfield, MA; KYUU Boise, ID; WJBF Augusta, GA; WLLZ Traverse City, MI; WWAY Wilmington, NC; WAOW-WYOW Wausau-Rhinelander, WI; WDIO-WIRT Duluth, MN; KJPX Joplin, MO; KPIF Idaho Falls; WKFK Biloxi, MI and WGBC Meridian, MS. Wow!
We will keep you up to date of any more station signings or any programing updates. So stay with us!

Comedy Central, USA Network Sitcoms Reduction; RTV's Emergency King in Phoenix

Comedy Central has dropped Just Shoot Me! from its line-up already. It was airing weekdays at 3:30pm and 4pm and weekends during mid-morning since June 1. It looks like ratings must have been pretty low for it to be dropped totally. It was dropped last week. No word on when or if it will return to Comedy Central, or on any Viacom-owned network for that matter. It had bombed on TV Land already. Now Comedy Central only airs Scrubs, sitcom wise. And as we mentioned on Friday, they have an original sitcom coming soon with a 10-episode order.
Meanwhile, USA Network has quietly removed Becker and Wings from its weekday morning line-up. They were airing most weekdays in the 6am hour. Now they are starting marathon stacks at 6am of their dramas like Monk and Law & Order: SVU. Becker and Wings will next air together during late night on Friday, July 24 (early July 25) in the 3-4am hour. In August, they will also air in the 3-4am hour together on Saturday nights (early Sundays). Becker will get filler plays during the week sometimes in the late night as well in both July and August. Check your listings. Becker is also airing in marathon blocks on Universal-owned network Universal HD, airing in HD and weeknights on WGN America as well. Wings is only on USA Network.
We will have more on these two shows on USA Network very soon when we announce the fall line-up in our annual fall schedules barrage here on the blog!

Retro Television's KAZT (7.2) in Phoenix is killing the competition at 3PM. At 3PM RTV's KAZT airs Emergency! and they are doing very well with it in the A25-54 demo. Last Monday (July 6), Emergency! posted a 0.7 A25-54 rating beating Oprah's 0.6 on KTVK. It also beat many other Phoenix airings throughout the day in A25-54 such as The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray, Fox's (KSAZ) primetime House, and The CW (KASW) primetime.
That's not all! The very next day (Tuesday, July 7) it was #1 in Men 25-54 in its 3PM timeslot in Phoenix beating not just Oprah at 3pm, but everything at 3pm! Emergency! posted a 1.2 M25-54 rating, beating Oprah's 0.8, Yes Dear on TBS's 0.8, Ellen DeGeneres Show on KPNX's 0.6, and so many other shows such as Gunsmoke on TV Land's 0.2 in Phoenix.
Emergency! aired originally from 1972-79 and was produced by Universal. The series followed the early years of the Paramedic program in the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) with the focus on the personnel of Fire Station 51, in particular Firefighter/Paramedics. Robert Fuller stars.
View more on Retro Television on their official website.

The N Brings Back Kenan, Growing Pains; Retro Television Coming to Columbia, SC

As we patiently wait for Nick at Nite's official July schedule with the addition of Malcolm in the Middle, we will bring you the July schedule for sister Viacom network The N. The new The N schedule starts Monday, July 6. The N, like other Viacom networks, likes to double-dip their comedies. Kenan & Kel will return to The N schedule! Starting at 6am we get back-to-back Caitlin's Way, Radio Free Roscoe, Kenan & Kel, Amanda Show, Moesha, and a four-spot of Degrassi from 11am-1pm. Afternoons starting at 1pm its back-to-back Beyond the Break, H2O, Saved by the Bell, Kenan & Kel, Unfabulous, and a four-spot of Zoey 101 from 6-8pm. The four-spots continue from 8pm-6am as well with What I Like About You, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, That '70s Show, What I Like About You, and Moesha. On Fridays, 7pm-8:30pm its Degrassi, followed by the new original series The Assistants at 8:30pm & 9pm for its premiere (then will air 8:30pm only weekly) with encores at 10:30pm & 2am. More Degrassi on Fridays are 9-10:30pm and 11pm-12am. What I Like About You is extended on Fridays from 2-6am instead of just 2-4am.
Weekends is the same as weekdays from 6am-10am. Then we have the four-spots of series from 10am-6pm with Unfabulous, Zoey 101, Degrassi and iCarly. Zoey 101 will air in the 6pm hour on Sundays. Then it gets a bit complicated for the rest of the night on weekends, so I suggest you view that schedule. Growing Pains is returning to the schedule but just once a week on late Sunday nights (early Monday mornings) at 4am ET/PT. The first week it will air at 3:30am, though. It joins a block of Clueless (4:30am) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (5-6am), as both of those are on just once a week as well. Too bad Growing Pains isn't returning to weekdays in its old 11am hour timeslot.
View and discuss the entire The N July 2009 schedule.

WKTC-My63, Columbia's My Network TV affiliate, is proud to announce that it has signed an exclusive agreement with RTV (Retro Television) to begin broadcasting classic TV programming on its digital subchannel, WKTC-DT2 (63.2), starting tomorrow (Saturday June 20, 2009)!
Daytime programming will include classic comedy hits such as Leave it to Beaver, McHale's Navy, and drama Marcus Welby, while evenings will be filled with hits such as Knight Rider, The A Team, Magnum P.I. and The Rockford Files.

TV Land Schedule Changes Starting June 15; RTN Coming to Los Angeles and Louisville

We gave you the schedule changes that started on TV Land on June 1, but we also told you that was only for weeks of June 1 and 8. Now TV Land has announced the schedule for at least the weeks of June 15 and 22. So let's go through it! Weekdays from 9am-12pm is the same as the previous two weeks with '70s sitcoms. The changes begin at 12 noon. First, TV Land Goes West is not extended anymore on Mondays. Airing weekdays at 12 noon is an episode of Leave it to Beaver, followed by Beverly Hillbillies, both replacing back-to-back Andy Griffith episodes. At 1pm, we have another Beverly Hillbillies remaining, followed by TV Land Goes West intact from 1:30pm-7pm. Then in the 7pm hour we get back-to-back Cosby Show episodes instead of Andy Griffith, as this means Andy Griffith is off the weekday line-up--wow! Then primetime from 8-11pm is heavily changed with Married...with Children on Mondays, Roseanne on Tuesdays, The Cosby Show/She's Got the Look encore on Wednesdays, Roseanne/She's Got the Look premiere & encore on Thursdays, and Cosby Show/PRIME Movie on Fridays. The PRIME movie is now at a new time of Fridays at 9PM. And airing from 11pm-4am now is all Roseanne every weeknight. There are a few She's Got the Look encores mixed in, though. Still that's a lot of Roseanne in late night! But off the clock is still remaining, so all these times are approximate. An hour of Three's Company and M*A*S*H airs at 4am and 5am respectively.
As for weekends, they have only announced what is airing the weekend of June 20-21, as they have not given an update on the weekend of June 27-28. On Saturday, June 20 we have: 6-8am PRIME Movie, 9am-12pm Beverly Hillbillies, 12pm-10pm Andy Griffith Show, 10pm-12am The Cosby Show, 1am-4am Roseanne, 4-6am Three's Company. And on Sunday, June 21 we have: 6am-8am Gunsmoke, 8am-12pm Bonanza, 12pm-10pm Andy Griffith, 10pm-12am M*A*S*H, 12am-2am Married...with Children, 2-3am Roseanne, 4-6am Little House on the Prairie. Whatever hours that are missing here will be encores of She's Got the Look. If I were to guess, we will see something similar to this weekend schedule the following weekend as well. So it looks like Andy Griffith is removed from weekdays (except for a sighting on Tuesday, June 23 from 8-9pm) but will dominate on weekends, or at least for the weekend of June 20-21.
Technically this schedule is through Friday, June 26...so stay tuned for any updates as usual! View the schedule starting Monday, June 15 in a list form, and also join in on our discussion! And don't forget to tune into the Married...with Children marathon this weekend on both days from 8am-10pm!

RTN (Retro Television Network, now called RTV) announced that it will retrofit KHIZ in Los Angeles beginning TODAY (Friday, June 12). KHIZ is actually located in Barstow, CA. The station, part of the Multicultural group, will begin airing the Retro TV lineup on its digital as well as several hours a day on its primary. Retro Television has secured major markets in recent weeks, as it went live three weeks ago on the Multicultural station WMFP in Boston and announced last week a deal to bring Retro TV to New York via WSAH TV on July 1.
Retro Television celebrates four years on the air on July 1 and now reports a national clearance of 80% of the US, with the Los Angeles market now included. Retro TV's Neal Ardman said "we are thrilled with our growth these last few months. What better market to launch concurrent with the digital switch then Los Angeles. Everyone at Multicultural has been a pleasure to work with and we look forward to a long prosperous relationship."
Also, Retro TV is coming to Louisville, KY! WBNA-DT in Louisville will now also join the Retro TV family. Originally supposed to go on-air on July 1, now WBNA-DT will go on the air as early as this coming Monday, sources say. WBNA, an ION affiliate, is owned by Evangel World Prayer Center (Word Broadcasting Network, Inc.). Retro TV is reportedly going to air on channel 21.2 or 21.4, so check it out on Monday.
If you still don't know by now, Retro TV airs great shows from the past like Adam 12, Leave it to Beaver, Night Gallery and rarely seen shows like Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew and Voyagers. Retro TV now provides both custom local feeds for its affiliates or a typical national network type feed at the stations choice.

And don't forget television makes the switch to digital today at 12:30pm ET! Hope you made the switch!

ION Television July 2009; RTN Coming to New York City, Announces More Shows

ION Television has announced its July line-up. But before we relay that to you, the change they were making we told you about starting June 8, is now NOT happening. This means Family Feud will stay in the 6pm hour and Reba will remain in the 7pm hour. Previously they were going to be switched, but they changed their mind.
Now back to July. Effective Monday, June 29, the 4-6pm weekday hours are changed. Previously we mentioned ER would return weekdays at 5pm starting June 29, with M*A*S*H moving to the 4pm hour. Now that is not happening either. Boston Legal will be airing weekdays at 5pm now! And Boston Legal will remain Tuesdays in primetime from 8-11pm as well. M*A*S*H will however still move to the 4pm hour as previously announced. Everything else will remain the same.
Movie premieres for July are Revenge, Uncle Buck, Wildcats, Batman Returns, Mother Knows Best, Terror in the Family, Passenger 57, and Training Day. Movies encores for July are Assassins, Pacific Heights, True Crime, Best Friends, Falling Down, Lethal Weapon 2, and Just Cause. Movies on Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 are still TBD, so stay tuned!
View the full ION Television July 2009 schedule and highlights.

Retro TV is FINALLY coming to the Big Apple! Yes, RTN is coming to the New York market. Retro Television announced today that is has entered into an agreement with Multicultural Broadcasting's WSAH to begin airing RTN starting Wednesday, July 1 in New York. RTN will air on the primary channel of WSAH-TV and will be available to cable, satellite and over the air viewers immediately. WSAH is actually based in Bridgeport, CT, though. So, there will be areas in the NY/NJ market that don't get this station on cable.
The new WSAH will air RTN 24/7 with great shows like Quincy, Dragnet, Alfred Hitchcock, Emergency! and many more. According to RTN's Neal Ardman "WSAH brings millions of cable and satellite viewers to the RTN family and we are beyond excited to launch our custom feed this July. We now New Yorkers will be thrilled with the Prime time all the Time lineup of RTN."
Sean Kim, COO of Multicultural Broadcasting said, "We are very excited to continue our relationship with Retro and looking forward to providing New York viewers with best programming from the '60s, '70s and '80s."
RTN is currently in or under contract in 75% of the US with its unique format of providing custom feeds to most markets.

RTN has also picked-up the rights to air 7 more shows, in addition to the Universal-owned shows they air. All 7 series are from independent production companies. The shows they have picked-up are:
I Spy - starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp (1965-68, 82 episodes)
The Rifleman - starring Chuck Connors (1958-63, 168 episodes)
The Cisco Kid - Starring Duncan Renaldo (1950-56, 156 episodes)
Daniel Boone - Starring Fess Parker (1964-70, 165 episodes)
Peter Gunn - Starring Craig Stevens (1958-61, 114 episodes)
The Adventures of Robin Hood - Starring Richard Greene (1955-60, 143 episodes)
Black Beauty - Starring Black Beauty (104 episodes)
These series will launch on RTN this July across the nation.

Nick at Nite Adds More Nanny; Cosby Show Celebrates 25th Anniversary; More RTN Stations

Nick at Nite, which introduced The Nanny to its line-up on Mother's Day, is going to add more slots for the show. Last weekend, they expanded on the late night airings on weekends for The Nanny, expanding the one-hour slots to two-hours (Saturdays 3-5am and Sundays 2-4am). Now Nick at Nite is doing more. First, they will have an all-night marathon this Sunday (May 24) from 10am-2am (encores 2am-6am) ET/PT. Then The Nanny moves from midnight to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays starting tonight (May 22), bumping Home Improvement. Family Matters takes over the 12 midnight slot on both nights. 1am-3am on Saturday nights will now be two-hours of Home Improvement. This may sound confusing, but the schedule is actually easier to follow a bit now with these changes, as now The Nanny airs every night in the 11pm hour and Family Matters in the 12am hour. View the full updated schedule for Nick at Nite. I don't have anything official yet, but it seems The Nanny is a surprise hit for the network.

The Cosby Show premiered on NBC on Sept. 20, 1984, nearly 25 years ago. This week some of the cast reunited on NBC's Today show. Bill Cosby (Cliff Huxtable), Phylicia Rashad (Clair Huxtable), Earle Hyman (Cliff's dad), Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo Huxtable), Geoffrey Owens (Elvin Tibideaux), Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy Huxtable), and Raven Symoné (Olivia Kendall) were together again. On Tuesday, they were heavily featured on the Today show. They spoke to both Matt Lauer and Al Roker. Roker was even in a Cosby sweater! If you missed it, not to worry, we have all the clips for you:
It's the Huxtables!
Behind the Scenes
25 Years Later
Cast Answering Viewer Questions

RTN is coming to more Ohio stations! WAX Channel 35 in Cleveland and WAOH Channel 29in Akron, starting Monday, June 1 will carry RTN. Old favorites such as Magnum P.I., Kojak, Night Gallery and The Incredible Hulk will air between 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. seven days a week.
Speaking of RTN, it seems like they are changing their name to RTV, according to their website.

So we finished upfront this week, stay tuned tomorrow as we give a full preview to all the new sitcoms on the broadcast networks from Modern Family to The Middle to Accidentally on Purpose. We have about 10 new sitcoms coming in 09-10!

SitcomsOnline.com 2009-10 Upfront Preview: CBS; RTN Now in Boston, Denver, Houston, Dallas, etc.

CBS hardly ever changes anything drastically, so I expect more of the same from them. However, I think the Wednesday comedies are on the way to Sundays.
Here is the SitcomsOnline.com CBS 2009-10 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: The Bridge (midseason drama)
New Series We Think That Are Almost Good To Go: The Good Wife (drama), NCIS: Legend (wt, drama), Happiness Isn't Everything (sitcom), Waiting to Die (sitcom) and Washington Field (drama).
New Series Perhaps Picked-Up for Mid-Season: Accidentally on Purpose (sitcom) and Three Rivers (drama)

OUR FALL 2009 PREDICTION:

Sundays
7:00PM 60 Minutes
8:00PM The Amazing Race
9:00PM Rules of Engagement
9:30PM Happiness Isn't Everything (NEW!)
10:00PM Cold Case

Mondays
8:00PM The Big Bang Theory
8:30PM How I Met Your Mother
9:00PM Two and a Half Men
9:30PM Waiting to Die (NEW!)
10:00PM CSI: Miami

Tuesdays
8:00PM Navy NCIS
9:00PM The Mentalist
10:00PM The Good Wife (NEW!)

Wednesdays
8:00PM NCIS: Legend (wt) (NEW!)
9:00PM Criminal Minds
10:00PM CSI: NY

Thursdays
8:00PM Survivor
9:00PM CSI
10:00PM Washington Field (NEW!)

Fridays
8:00PM Ghost Whisperer
9:00PM Flashpoint
10:00PM NUMB3RS

Saturdays
8:00PM Crime Repeats
9:00PM Crime Repeats
10:00PM 48 Hours Mystery

Comments: CBS is the number one network in total viewers. They rely heavily on crime dramas and we can expect that to continue. That makes them older skewing, and I think they are trying to go younger, especially with younger skewing comedies. I'll dissect night by night on what I think they will do. Their Monday sitcom block will likely have one new comedy, Waiting to Die is a contender for the post Two and a Half Men slot, as a single camera comedy didn't work at all this season in Worst Week.
As for Tuesday, the combo of NCIS and The Mentalist will likely remain and not be messed with, but they could try a new drama instead of Without a Trace, something like The Good Wife. I would have Trace return in midseason for its final season and be placed where needed.
For Wednesdays, instead of opening the night with two sitcoms the NCIS spinoff series would be lethal if it is anything like the original. I don't think CBS will move Criminal Minds or CSI: NY, as they are solid.
CBS Thursdays will have to change since nothing post CSI worked particularly well at 10pm this season. CBS could go with drama Washington Field following CSI. Survivor would likely remain at 8pm, but there is talk of it moving to Sunday or even Wednesday.
Fridays will likely remain the same with Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS opening and closing the night with Flashpoint in the middle. CBS could try the picked-up Canadian crime series The Bridge at some point after Whisperer.
Saturdays would still have crime repeats and 48 Hours Mystery at 10pm.
And as for Sundays, CBS always gets screwed with the sports run-over (especially in the fall with the NFL) and they usually are in 30-40 minute delays or even more for the entire country except the west coast. I keep suggesting they just shorten 60 Minutes, or it will kill a new show if they launch one on Sundays, which I think they will this year. I think Amazing Race will be back at 8pm...but maybe for just one cycle. CBS could try to open a second night of comedy on this night. Rules of Engagement and new Jason Biggs sitcom Happiness Isn't Everything would air in the 9pm hour (though there are reports this sitcom won't be until midseason), bumping Cold Case to 10pm to better close the night. Once Amazing Race ends, in January they can bring back Old Christine and try a new similar comedy as well, with the Jenna Elfman comedy Accidentally on Purpose the perfect fit. So come January, CBS could have sitcoms from 8-10pm. I think it is a better night to try comedy for CBS than Wednesdays.
Series canceled or I think will be canned include The Ex List, Worst Week, Harper's Island, Eleventh Hour, Million Dollar Password, The Unit. I think CBS will bring back Old Christine for mid-season, as mentioned...and they could slot Gary Unmarried in some slot that needs help (perhaps Sundays). Without a Trace also will be on call to replace anything that fails in midseason. It's time for CBS to cut its ties with The Unit. CBS also has two reality series that have been picked-up to series: Arranged Marriage and There Goes the Neighborhood. I would guess they air in midseason or even next summer. I already mentioned I think the Jenna Elfman sitcom Accidentally on Purpose would go to Sundays in midseason as it goes perfectly with Old Christine, and CBS will likely pick-up a medical drama, likely Three Rivers...perhaps replacing Cold Case in January?

Remember, next Wednesday (May 20) is the actual date when we will find out CBS's plans for the 2009-10 season. So, come on back next Wednesday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong). Stay tuned tomorrow for a preview on The CW's upfront.
Discuss your thoughts on our prediction and feel free to make suggestions of your own!


We haven't given you Retro Television Network (RTN) news in awhile, so I'm going to try and catch you all up news on all new affiliates in the past few months. It's an RTN round-up, so saddle up! RTN announced that it has reached an agreement with WMFP in Boston to put RTN on both the digital and primary feed. The station which had been airing infomercials and other paid programming will become a full time RTN affiliate within the next two weeks. According to RTN's Neal Ardman "we could not have a better affiliate. RTN will transform WMFP from an all infomercial station to a station that families all over the Boston DMA can enjoy with great shows like Quincy and The Rockford Files." RTN will provide WMFP with a 24/7 custom network feed from its studios in Tennessee.
Retro Television Network has also announced its newest affiliate will be KCDO in Denver, CO. KCDO is a full power station serving the Denver DMA. RTN's Neal Ardman said "we are thrilled to add KCDO to the growing list of RTN affiliates using RTN as their primary channel."
Johnson Broadcasting's independent KNWS Houston, will offer Retro Television Network's programming lineup of classic TV shows on a digital subchannel very soon. Houston is the 10th largest DMA in the nation.
Also, Johnson Broadcasting's independent KLDT Dallas, will offer Retro Television Network's programming lineup of classic TV shows on a digital subchannel. Dallas is the 5th largest DMA in the nation.
Welcome Back, Buffalo! WGRZ-TV has confirmed that the Gannett-owned station has a deal with the Retro Television Network (RTN) to carry it on a third digital channel once the necessary equipment arrives in Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo market was the most interested in the return of RTN since it was dumped from WNGS-TV, the station that was recently purchased at an Equity auction by a religious station group based in Dallas.
And another welcome back is in story for Little Rock, AR. In Little Rock, RTN says it will return to the state capital by July 1 and as an affiliate of Allbritton Communications KATV. KATV is one of five Allbritton Communications stations that has chosen to air RTN and its classic TV lineup on a digital subchannel. KATV's primary network is ABC.
KSLM-TV (Salem, OR), the Salem area's newest television station, is pleased to announce it has also reached an affiliation agreement with Retro Television Network. KSLM-TV is free to over-the-air viewers, and can be seen on DTV channel 17-2. View their schedule.
Wow, I think that is it! If not, I'll let you know as soon as I do. RTN is growing everyday, so I urge you to view their full list of affiliates, so you don't miss it in your area. I'm still hoping it comes to the #1 market of NYC soon, so I can enjoy it as well.
RTN was founded in 2005 and has deals covering over 65% of the U.S. RTN provides custom feeds for most markets allowing the stations to be a part of programming process. With great shows like Adam-12, Battlestar Galactica and Quincy RTN has become a viewer favorite quickly.

Former RTN in Buffalo Turns to This TV; ABC and ABC Studios Announce Reorganization

Former RTN affiliate WNGS, is now an affiliate of MGM/Weigel's This TV. If you all recall, a few RTN stations that were owned by Equity (like Buffalo and Little Rock), had to remove RTN programming starting Jan. 5 because of an expired deal (and that Equity is now bankrupt). RTN is still looking to replace the missing affiliates in those cities with other affiliates. However, the former RTN in Buffalo is now with This TV. The This TV programming started on Tuesday. They air MGM-owned movies and TV series, but primarily movies. The TV series include Mister Ed and The Patty Duke Show. While this is semi-good news for Buffalo, let's hope Buffalo can find another spot for RTN in the near future!
Speaking of RTN, I don't have much to report, but some areas are back on their local schedule rather than the national feed.
Please continue to give us feedback on if your station is back on your local feed or if the national schedule is continuing for your RTN station. We hope to have more RTN news soon.. So please stay with us!

Responding to the changing realities of the entertainment landscape, and addressing an opportunity to streamline the creative process, ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios will be operated as a coordinated business unit entitled ABC Entertainment Group, it was announced today by Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney-Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group.
This newly formed unit will be managed by President Stephen McPherson, who had previously served as president, ABC Entertainment. Now McPherson will serve as president of ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios. Mark Pedowitz, former president of ABC Studios, has moved into a new role as senior advisor to the Office of the Co-Chairman, where he will work alongside Ms. Sweeney on a myriad of evolving business, labor relations and emerging media issues.
The newly formed ABC Entertainment Group will combine ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment, with all operations of the two separate units reporting to Mr. McPherson. The new division's primary mandate will be to develop and produce compelling programming for broadcast on ABC. However, when appropriate, the studio will look for outside opportunities. The successful partnership between ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment prior to this announcement has delivered some of the most successful, talked-about and evolutionary series on television today, including Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. Mr. McPherson will spend the next few months integrating the units, with input from Mr. Pedowitz.

RTN Using National Feed; CBS Pulls Password on Sundays, Rules Back on Mondays in March

The other day we gave you an update on what is happening at RTN (Retro Television Network). On Sunday morning, many RTN affiliates had an on-screen message saying the contract with Equity has expired. Then shortly after RTN resumed programming or was replaced totally. On Equity-owned stations, like in Buffalo, RTN has been replaced totally with other programming. RTN was once owned by Equity, but was sold to Luken Communications in June. Equity's contract to distribute RTN had been extended a week past its Dec. 24 expiration date but Dec. 24 also was the deadline on Equity's option to buy back RTN from current owner Luken Communications. Equity is no longer allowed to air the RTN programs on its stations, including WNGS in Buffalo. However, an Equity spokesperson said it eventually might be able to bring the RTN programs back to the Equity stations.
For non-Equity stations, RTN is now using its national feed to program RTN. RTN stations had their own local feed, but due to this Equity fiasco, RTN made a sooner-than-expected flash cut to a new master control and uplink center in Chattanooga, Tenn. By 9 a.m. Sunday, it was able to restore service to most of their stations (not Equity-owned stations, of course) with national feeds.
So what is the schedule like for this national feed? I suggest you take a look at the national feed schedule we posted, so you know what is going to air. Now there are reports that RTN is way off time right now airing shows up to 20 minutes late, so be aware of that. This national feed might be good for some stations because they will get programs that weren't on their local feed. Until this is resolved, RTN will have this national feed to all of its stations. It could be up until today or last the rest of the month or longer, so no idea right now. But it will be nice to see Munsters Today and Harry and the Hendersons on Sunday morning for those stations who didn't get those! If this conflict is still going on Sunday, that is.
There were only four major Equity-owned RTN stations that RTN lost: Little Rock; Buffalo, N.Y.; Panama City, Fla.; and Spokane, Wash. They account for less than 1 percent of the nation's TV households, a small fraction of the network's total reach, which now hovers around 40 percent. In any event, the lost affiliates will be replaced quickly by new affiliates.
RTN won't be allowed to air original programming that Equity had produced such as the late night series Unreliable Sources and Closing Remarks, so total classic TV fans are happy about that, I'm sure.
Equity also refused to transfer RTN's website to RTN. So fans looking for RTNville.com, the website is now MyRetroTV.com. On some stations, RTN is calling themselves MyRetroTV, as well. Will this fiasco force them to change their name, too? We shall see. I'm trying to get in touch with RTN (Mark and Neal if you're reading, please contact me!), and we hope to reach them soon. Due to all of this, their contact info has changed. We hope to try and sit down with them to get you all the information you need. Maybe another Seven Questions interview? We'll try!

CBS has altered its Sunday schedule for the next three weeks. They have pulled Million Dollar Password. The show was originally scheduled for its final two new episodes on Jan. 11 and 25. The show has been doing decent in total viewers but lagging in the adult 18-49 demo. This Sunday (January 11) a special 60 Minutes will air at 8pm following an NFL playoff game from 4-8pm. On Sunday, January 18, CBS will air an all-new episode of The Mentalist on a special night & time at 10pm ET (7pm PT) following the NFL AFC Championship Game from 6-10pm ET. The Mentalist will air immediately following the game on ALL time zones. So 9pm CT, 8pm MT and 7pm PT. In Mountain and Pacific zones, a repeat of The Unit will follow 9pm MT and 8pm PT. Pacific time will have local programming after the repeat of The Unit. Finally, on Sunday, January 25, Million Dollar Password will be replaced with an all-new Cold Case at a special time of 8pm, leading into the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie from 9-11pm.
So what does this mean for Million Dollar Password? The following week is the Super Bowl, so it is not likely a new episode will air against that. It can't air on Feb. 8 because of the Grammy Awards and then starting Feb. 15 The Amazing Race returns to the slot. So looks like it will not return to Sundays anytime soon. What about Thursdays at 8? They have repeats scheduled thru January 22, but nothing has been booked for January 29 and Feb. 5, so the two final episodes can air then maybe? Survivor returns Feb. 12. I do expect these two episodes to air but not sure exactly when yet. We'll let you know.
Meanwhile, CBS has announced it will return sitcom Rules of Engagement on Monday, March 2 following Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm ET/PT. Worst Week will finish its 16 episodes on Feb. 9 and we won't know probably if that show will return next season until upfront in May. It doesn't look too promising, though. CBS will air repeats on Feb. 16 and 23 of other CBS comedies likely until Rules launches.
View our full CBS schedule updates.

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with Linda Kay (PerfectStrangers.TV); RTN Update

We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with Linda Kay of PerfectStrangers.TV! Linda has been a good friend and has been a fan of the TV sitcom Perfect Strangers since its original run on ABC from 1986-1993. As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form!

We had the pleasure to interview Linda Kay. Linda not only runs the website on Perfect Strangers, she also runs the website on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, in which later this year the website will mark 10 years online. The franchise will also celebrate its 20th anniversary next month. Excellent! Linda updates her websites weekly with constant updates to make older entertainment new once again. Her updates make older entertainment new again, like how websites are constantly updated for newer television series. During the original run of Perfect Strangers, Linda ran a fan club on the show called P.S. I Love You, with many newsletters being published. The newsletters were well-liked and were endorsed by the cast and crew of Perfect Strangers. P.S. I Love You even featured interviews, such as with F.J. O'Neil (who played Mr. Wainwright). We're not ridiculous!

We thank Linda for taking the time to answer some of the most interesting questions we have for her...and her responses were so amazing. So it is time for another installment of SitcomsOnline's Seven Questions Series! We seriously STILL need a jingle. How about a Myposian jingle? Any takers out there?

"Seven Questions with Linda Kay"

SitcomsOnline: Hi Linda, it is so great finally interviewing you! Your Perfect Strangers website is one of the best TV shows sites ever, if not the best. It is truly wonderful and amazing how much information you have! You truly are the "go-to" person for anything Perfect Strangers! I have to ask, how did you get into the show? I know you didn't watch it originally in the first season, but what actually drew you to the show? Did you catch it on TV accidentally or did someone tell you to watch this hilarious comedy?
Linda Kay: Thank you, Cousin Pavan! I'm really honored to be asked about the Perfect Strangers website, which you yourself have championed even before it was launched! Thank you very much for your kind words about the site. You're right, I wasn't a big fan of the show from the very beginning. I used to catch an episode every now and again. I don't think I ever saw it on Tuesday night during its first six-week run. I must not have been home on Tuesday because I don't recall watching Growing Pains or Who's the Boss? in 1986, either. When Perfect Strangers moved to Wednesday, I would put it on sometimes. To be honest, my first impressions weren't particularly favorable. I thought it was a poor knock off of Laverne & Shirley. Plus, I was another victim of the cynical side of television then. I thought the "feel-good" endings were unrealistic. I kept expecting everything to go wrong, like the twists at the end of Taxi. But something made me keep putting it on and giving it another chance. I recall very specifically the first time the episode "Snow Way to Treat a Lady" aired. I don't remember the part with the skis, so I must have tuned in partway through. When I saw it was a "snowbound in a remote cabin" plot I actually said out loud to the television, "There is nothing original you can do with this." Then the avalanche hit and they opened the door to reveal Larry pressed up against it by the snow. And I laughed and said, "Touché." That's when I really started giving the show the respect it deserved and watching more carefully. I even started videotaping episodes to watch later. When I saw a repeat of the episode "Beautiful Dreamer" in the summer of 1987, it melted my heart and I was converted forever.

SitcomsOnline: I know you told Retroality.TV about how you started your fan club newsletter "P.S. I Love You" in 1989. So I'll ask something different about it. How did you guys compile all that information? How big was this fan club? Was it a team effort? And for you readers out there, Linda sent me many copies of the newsletters...and they are very well done. I spent hours reading them!
Linda Kay: Oh, go on with you! I compiled the information from a variety of sources. I used to visit the International News Stands in L.A. and go through tons of magazines every week. I would also watch and record all the entertainment news shows I could, as well as local news. But the fans who subscribed to the newsletter were really invaluable to me. They would send in articles, not only from all over the United States but from all over the world! In that way it was definitely a team effort. I had a few real standout members: Cousin Paula became a really good friend and she was brilliant at researching things, even from Pennsylvania (remember, this was before the Internet was commonplace!), Cousins Cindy and Carol, Cousin Lynn, Cousin Cheryl...there are far too many to name! Putting together the newsletter...the actual cutting and pasting and folding and mailing part of it...was all done by me. But without the great information network provided by the fans, it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting to read. It's much the same now on our Forums...so many fans contribute news and stories that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. In this way fan clubs and websites really are collaborative efforts.
The original fan club membership never numbered more than fifty, surprisingly. Back then there really weren't any places to advertise television fan clubs that were affordable, and people didn't really even think to look for fan clubs for comedy shows (unlike science fiction programs). And while the production company supported our efforts, they wouldn't allow us access to the addresses of fans writing in to the show or mail out information about our club. We weren't even really allowed to promote the club at filmings (although I was often able to recruit members from people sitting near me who loved the show). But the enthusiasm and love for the show that existed amongst the members more than made up for the small numbers.

SitcomsOnline: You attended many tapings of the show. Can you share some memorable moments from these tapings and where was the show taped? Did you ever go to a taping from one of your personal favorite episodes? Imagine going to the taping of the Bibbibabka episode!
Linda Kay: The show was filmed at the old MGM Studios in Culver City (when it was known as the Lorimar Studio lot). I feel so thankful that I lived in the Los Angeles area during those years and was able to attend the filmings of the show beginning with the third season. Every show was amazing...it was like watching these great actors in a different play every week! And it was very, very professional. The earlier filmings ran like clockwork. No other show filmed as quickly! Everyone, the cast and crew, knew exactly what they were doing. It was incredible to watch and so educational. As for memorable moments, I think the night Bronson and Mark accidentally cracked their heads together during the filming of "Assertive Training" would have to be one. Although I was seated way to the far right of the stage and didn't see it happen at all. I had no idea how serious it was. I just knew that something happened to stop the filming and the audience seemed concerned. Now normally Robert G. Lee would do the warm up comedy, and he was always very good about giving me episode titles and filling me in on what was happening. But he wasn't there that night, and the warm up comedian was giving me a hard time about my taking notes during the show. I didn't even know how badly hurt they'd been until I saw Bronson talking about it on a talk show. The fact that they finished the show and even came out to answer questions afterward made it seem everything was okay, so those of us to the sides really didn't even understand what had happened.
I was not lucky enough to see the Bibbibabka episode filmed, but I did get to see the filming of the other classic episode from the third season, "Pipe Dreams." That was really memorable. All the scenes with the plumbing exploding had been filmed in advance, so they showed the audience a rough cut of the scenes on the studio monitors. Bronson and Mark climbed up into the bleachers and sat down on the steps to watch along with the audience! The laughter went on for so long...the reaction was priceless. They never used "Applause" signs on the audience at the filmings...the audiences reacted with genuine laughter and applause. That's the magic of great writing, acting and directing all coming together at once.

SitcomsOnline: PerfectStrangers.TV is certainly an amazing website. It really needs to be nominated for one of the best websites list that Entertainment Weekly does each year. The site is updated every Tuesday, but one may wonder, how is that possible for a show that ended over 15 years ago? Your personal library for the show must be amazing! Probably multiple versions of each episode and the cast on just about everything they have done?
Linda Kay: Wwowww! Coming from the Sitcom Guru, that's wonderful praise! One of the main reasons I started the site is because I had such a large amount of information about the show and I wanted to share it with a larger audience than I was able to do back when it was on the air. I did amass a very large collection, and now with online technology I can not only share news and stories but photos, video and so much more than I was ever able to do before. I have to give thanks to Cousin Paula's family for giving me the chance to purchase her collection as well. Next to myself, I believe Paula had one of the largest collections anywhere. She had also purchased many more scripts than I had, so that's been an incredible resource for the episode outlines. She took over production on the newsletter when I had moved on to other projects in 1993, producing two more issues than there would have been otherwise. I had forgotten that at the time I sent her all of my scrapbooks of articles and clippings. When I started the website, I was frantically trying to find these books and had given them up for lost. But fortunately they were included with the items Paula's family sent to me. There's also current news to cover. The actors are, for the most part, still very active in the business. And then Warner Bros. Home Video finally released the first and second seasons of the show on DVD this year, which seems to have sparked a resurgence of interest in the series. So with all this material I should be able to continue to provide fresh weekly updates for some time to come!

SitcomsOnline: What parts of the website do you like the best and what do you wish you can add to the website in the future? You can go decades probably updating your "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" section. I love that! Wouldn't it be cool for you to interview the cast now for a feature on your website? I'm sure they remember you!
Linda Kay: I would love to interview anyone from the cast and crew of the show! Hopefully that will happen at some point. Right now I'm focusing on getting the basic information up, especially the episode outlines. I think that's my favorite thing to work on right now. I have learned so much more about the series than I ever did before just by putting those together and examining each episode so closely. The information on the site is way more detailed than anything I ever published in the newsletters. I want to expand and complete all the Actors Profiles as well. There's certainly a lot more I can (and will) do down the line!

SitcomsOnline: Do the comedies of today compare to sitcoms like Perfect Strangers? If so, what is missing today in your mind? What are some of your other favorite sitcoms--past and present?
Linda Kay: To be honest, there really aren't any sitcoms I watch today. This isn't to say there aren't any good sitcoms on the air, I just don't tend to catch them. The few episodes of Scrubs I have seen have been funny, and I watched an episode of My Name is Earl, the other day which really made me laugh. I used to watch some of the shows on CBS on Monday when Everybody Loves Raymond was still on. So I really can't speak against any shows of today. But I will say that I don't think there are any shows which focus on physical comedy any more. Kevin James did a bit on his show, The King of Queens, which I also enjoyed. But more than that, I don't think many shows on television today (sitcoms or otherwise) are particularly "nice." But then, back when Perfect Strangers first aired, it was unusually "nice" even then. "Nice" just hasn't been popular for some time. But I think we need "nice" shows, if for no other reason than to just relax and laugh for twenty-three minutes without having to think too much. This is why classic shows are still so classic...I Love Lucy is something you can just put on and laugh at without being cynical. There's nothing wrong with cynical and biting comedy (in fact I love Family Guy, whose consulting producer, Tom Devanney, worked on Perfect Strangers) but variety is the spice of life. There's room for classic-style sitcoms as well.
As for past sitcoms, I do have many favorites, including I Love Lucy, The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley, The Monkees, Bosom Buddies, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gilligan's Island, Get Smart, Three's Company, Taxi, Soap, and Frasier. And I love British comedy, such as The Goodies, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Black Adder and Red Dwarf. I also think Ernie Kovaks was a comedy genius, as was Steve Allen. The Steve Allen Show when he had Don Knotts and Tom Poston and Pat Harrington, Jr. and Louis Nye and Gabe Dell...now that was comedy!

SitcomsOnline: Finally, it is so sad Perfect Strangers hasn't gotten the rerun play as say similar era shows like Family Matters (its spin-off!). Do you think a reunion show would be good to have? Retrospective ones are usually the way to go these days, with the cast gathering talking about the show, like we saw with Happy Days and One Day at a Time. But wouldn't it be cool to have Balki in 2009? I mean if The Facts of Life and Growing Pains got to do actual continuation movies, why can't Perfect Strangers? Bronson Pinchot (Balki) and Mark Linn-Baker (Larry) are still acting and Belita Moreno (Lydia) and Sam Anderson (Mr. Gorpley) have been working steadily in supporting roles on George Lopez and Lost. But it would be nice to see Melanie Wilson (Jennifer) and Rebeca Arthur (Mary Anne) again!
Linda Kay: I've always been confused as to why Perfect Strangers never did well in syndication after its first daytime run on ABC weekdays back when the show was still on in prime time. But it never has. And sadly these days with television audiences out of sight means out of mind. I'll be honest and say that overall I'm pretty skeptical about reunion shows. Sometimes they can come across as trying to relive past glories to a sad effect. But I would love to see the cast together again in some capacity, whether it was a made-for-TV reunion movie (in the hands of the Perfect Strangers alumni it could be done well) or just a special which brings everyone back together to reminisce about the show. I would never say I didn't want to see something like that...don't be ridiculous! Bronson recorded a few ringtones as Balki while he was appearing on The Surreal Life, so who knows? Maybe it isn't out of the question!

SitcomsOnline: Thank you for your time and I am so glad we are friends! You are great and so is your website! Fans remember to go to PerfectStrangers.TV to find any information related to Perfect Strangers and talk with other fans there as well. Linda has it all! Even rare videos. Where else can you watch a clip of Bronson Pinchot on Circus of the Stars? Stay tuned right here for continued updates on the show and PerfectStrangers.TV!
Linda Kay: Thank you, Cousin Pavan, for giving me a chance to answer your questions. I'm certainly glad we're friends, too. Everyone should realize that you were a great motivator in getting this site up and running when I was on the precipice trying to decide whether or not to take the plunge. But now that I'm here, the water's great!

Our thanks once again to Linda Kay, we wish her continued success! Our apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time. For more information on Linda Kay, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to view her Perfect Strangers website PerfectStrangers.TV. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news on Linda and the show!


We have gotten e-mails and inquires on why some RTN affiliates have been replaced with a message or other programming since yesterday. It's NOT every RTN station. There are many out there still programming RTN programming. Here is a statement from RTN:
Equity Media Holdings Corporation (EMHC) announced that its agreement to service Retro Programming Services, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the RTN Network has expired. Equity Media sold Retro Programming Services, Inc. to Luken Communications, LLC, in a stock transaction on June 24, 2008, and pursuant to the sale EMHC agreed to provide services to the network from its Little Rock headquarters including transmission, trafficking, programming and accounting for a period of six months.
EMHC attempted to coordinate a seamless transition but despite repeated attempts to communicate with Luken Communications representatives, it received no response.
Aaron Rothberg, Corporate Director of Technical Operations for EMHC, noted "I have worked with the RTN affiliates for over 3 years and it is my hope that the Luken RTN operation will be able to provide the same high quality service that we have but I am concerned since I am not aware of any coordination with the RTN affiliates."
Equity Media further announced that its stations which had carried the RTN Network programming will no longer do so, but will be replaced with a variety of quality and entertaining programming.
All the other stations owned by Equity Media, which includes Univision, FOX, Telefutura, ABC and MyNetworkTV affiliates, as well as existing third party broadcast station clients, will be unaffected by the expiration of the RTN relationship.
So what does this all mean? We will try and answer that as soon as we have more information. Stay tuned... But for now, do let us know on our message board if your RTN station is on or not.

Happy New Year; Classic TV Stamps Coming Soon; RTN Launches Today in a PA Market

Happy New Year! We welcome in 2009 today as we get ready for yet another year of TV/sitcom news for you here on the SitcomsOnline.com News Blog. Another year, and another year to say thanks for visiting everyday! We are entering our fourth year (season four!) of non-stop news. So far almost 3 1/2 years of news every single day (since August 2005). We have you to thank because you continue to visit! Here's to another year! Enjoy the TV marathons today we relayed to you yesterday!

Classic TV is coming to a US postage stamp near you! Folks who grew up as television came of age will delight in a 20-stamp set included in the Postal Service's plans for 2009 recalling early memories of the medium. Most of the commemorative stamps are priced at 42 cents, the current first-class rate. However, a rate increase is scheduled in May and the size will depend on the consumer price index. The Early TV Memories stamp set is scheduled for release Aug. 11 in Los Angeles.
Among programs to be commemorated in the 20-stamp series: the Groucho Marx-hosted game show You Bet Your Life, where saying the secret word got the player $100. Also on the list are The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Dinah Shore Show, Dragnet, The Ed Sullivan Show, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, Hopalong Cassidy, The Honeymooners, Howdy Doody, I Love Lucy, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Perry Mason, The Phil Silvers Show, Red Skelton, Texaco Star Theater, The Tonight Show and The Twilight Zone.

Early last year we told you about RTN coming to a Pennsylvania affiliate in early 2009, now we have gotten word that that affiliate launches TODAY! WJAC in the Johnstown area of PA, will air classic favorites such as Leave it to Beaver, McHale's Navy, Magnum P.I., Dragnet and others. The Retro Television Network will be broadcast over WJAC-TV's 6.2 digital channel. Comcast subscribers can view this programming in the area on Channel 106 and Atlantic Broadband subscribers can view RTN in the area on channel 110. RTN will replace NBC's Weather Plus Channel which was discontinued by the network.

'Twas the Day Before Christmas....2008 Christmas Marathons on Television

'Twas the day (or night, depending on when you read this) before Christmas...when all through the blog not a creature was stirring, not even Mickey Mouse! Sorry, that was the best I could come up with. Well it is indeed Christmas Eve! Marathons will be airing all this long holiday weekend and we will let you know what and where. We have told you many of the notable ones in our regular stories, such as Retro Television Network's Leave it to Beaver marathon starting today at 4pm and running until 11:59pm on Christmas Day! That's 32 hours of The Beav! Gee whiz, Wally, can't we sleep and stuff? Nope! We have a promo for the marathon for you to watch. Our gift to you! Well, from RTN to you. Enjoy the marathon, if you get the channel.


Now for the other holiday helpings...we told you about BET's Holiday Sitcom Marathons that started yesterday with Family Matters. It continues today with One on One, Smart Guy on Christmas Day, The Proud Family on Friday, and Girlfriends on Saturday. And Fresh Prince to throw in on Monday even. Nice! TV Land has holiday episodes starting at midnight ET tonight running until 9pm on Christmas Day with such series such as Night Court, Cosby Show, All in the Family, and The Jeffersons labeled as their Merrython. Nick at Nite also has holiday episodes tonight and tomorrow, with series such as Family Matters and George Lopez in primetime. We mentioned WGN America's holiday programming, such as the Yule Log tonight and holiday classics like The Flintstones and The Honeymooners today. Catch holiday episodes of sitcoms on TV One, FX, ABC Family, Lifetime, and more in their regular slots today as well. And TBS has its annual showing if 24 hours of the holiday movie classic A Christmas Story starting tonight a 8pm. What we didn't mention yet for today: Family Feud marathon on GSN, Top Chef on Bravo, James Bond movies on Spike and Ghost Hunters on Sci Fi. On Christmas Day, we haven't mentioned: Mythbusters on Discovery, Card Sharks on GSN, Law & Order on TNT, Star Trek: The Next Generation on Sci Fi, House on USA Network, Rocky movies 1-5 on Versus, and James Bond films continues on Spike.
Among the day after Christmas marathons we haven't mentioned include CSI on Spike, Amazing Race 13 on Travel, Super Password on GSN, Highlander: The Series on Sci Fi, and House continues on USA.

Make notes of all these marathons and enjoy them with your family this holiday. Come on back tomorrow for a bit, if you get a chance! Be on the look out for Santa tonight! Clear those chimneys and fireplaces! Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!

Leave it to Beaver Christmas Marathon on RTN; Unsolved Mysteries To Return on Spike TV in January

Retro Television Network (RTN) will celebrate the Christmas holiday with a marathon of America's favorite family...The Cleavers, with a marathon of Leave it to Beaver! Every single RTN affiliate will air 32 straight hours of Leave it to Beaver beginning at 4pm on Christmas Eve. The 32-hour marathon will conclude at midnight Christmas night.
You will see 64 classic episodes of the sitcom that featured Jerry Mathers as the Beaver. Among the episodes you'll see are "In the Soup," "Beaver's Report Card," "Wally's Dream Girl," "Beaver's First Date," "Eddie Quits School," and the very last episode "Family Scrapbook."
This is a marathon you will not want to miss! Spend Christmas with your family watching the Cleaver family on RTN! I just always wondered why there never was an actual Christmas episode of Leave it to Beaver? View full episode info for the marathon.

Many of you have been wondering what has happened to Unsolved Mysteries on Spike TV lately? Spike TV decided to give all-day marathons of CSI and CSI: NY all December long and thus the entire schedule has been preempted this month, with James Bond movies during Christmas week. Even Married...with Children is not airing weekdays. Not to worry everything will be back in January! But first, week of December 29 will feature a marathon of one show per day. The marathon starts with a Married...with Children all-day marathon on December 29 and concludes on January 2 with Unsolved Mysteries. Unsolved Mysteries. will then have a week-long marathon from Monday, Jan. 5 to Friday, Jan. 9 from 9am-6pm each day! Talk about returning in style! But what about airing regularly? That will happen, too! Effective Monday, Jan. 12, Spike TV will have a new weekday line-up. The Shield kicks it off at 9am, followed by four episodes of Married...with Children from 10am-12pm, then Unsolved Mysteries will launch in its new time period with three episodes in a row from 12-3pm. The schedule continues with CSI: NY from 3-7pm and CSI from 7-9pm. Then we have primetime from 9pm-12am, and in the late night we have CSI: NY at midnight, Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol at 1am, Spike's Most Amazing Videos at 2am, and Star Trek: Voyager at 3am. Some nights late in week from 1-4am we get episodes of Married...with Children, The Shield, and MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge as well. You Unsolved Mysteries fans can see the series on most Sunday afternoons as well in January.
View complete details for Spike TV January 2009.

What I Like About You Joins The N in January 2009; More RTN Affiliates Added

The N has released their January schedule and it will have a new sitcom added. Starring Amanda Bynes, What I Like About You joins The N with a 24-hour premiere marathon that begins on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 12:00pm ET/PT (First 49 episodes, except #9 will air in the marathon). When her widowed father moves to Japan, Holly (Amanda Bynes) is forced to move in with her straight-laced older sister Valerie (Jennie Garth), who's a promising public relations upstart living in Manhattan. It's not long before Holly's antics turn Valerie's regimented life upside down!
And that's not all! The excitement continues all week long with a week of primetime marathons of What I Like About You every night from 8pm-12am ET/PT from Friday, January 2 through Sunday, January 11.
Then the show will join the regular line-up after the 11 days worth of marathons. Beginning Monday, January 12, What I Like About You will air regularly on The N every night at 10pm-12am ET/PT. Among the other changes on The N are now four episodes in a row blocks of your favorite sitcoms from 6pm-6am: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Zoey 101, What I Like About You, That '70s Show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Moesha...with a mix of Degrassi on weekends.
View the full schedule and highlights for The N January 2009.

Coming tomorrow we will take a look at TV Land January 2009. Will paid programming continue? What will replace I Love Lucy? All that and more will be answered!

Retro Television Network is coming to more affiliates! RTN's coming to Eureka, Odessa-Midland, Huntsville and Albuquerque.
RTN has signed KIEM-DT, Eureka, CA as its newest RTN affiliate. KIEM is the second Pollack Broadcasting station that RTN has signed as an affiliate. The first, KWCE‐TV, Alexandria, LA was one of the first RTN affiliates to sign on the air in 2006.
RTN has also announced that it has signed KWWT-DT, Odessa-Midland, TX as an affiliate. KWWT-DT is owned by Camino Real Communications.
RTN is also coming to Alabama on WHNT-DT in the Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, AL market, as they will be signing on as an RTN affiliate. WHNT is owned by Local TV LLC.
Finally, RTN has signed Ramar Communication's KTLL-DT/KFAC-LP, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM as RTN affiliates.
This is great news, and you can view the full press releases for these four new RTN markets. RTN can be found on the web at www.rtnville.com.

ABC's According to Jim Returns For Season Eight; Fox Dumps 'Til Death; RTN Coming to Jacksonville and Memphis

ABC is bringing back the Jim Belushi sitcom According to Jim for an eighth season this December. Starting Tuesday, December 2, 2008, According to Jim will air back-to-back new episodes for the entire month at 9:00pm & 9:30pm ET. On December 2, it will follow the holiday classic Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, but it is unclear as of now what its lead-in will be for the rest of the month (likely to be holiday specials though). We will have more on all the network holiday specials at a later date on our annual network Christmas/holiday specials post. As for According to Jim, it was renewed for an eighth season pretty late and ABC has ordered 18 new episodes, including a Christmas episode! ABC will likely air them all in December and January. As of now, Scrubs and new animated comedy The Goode Family are slated to launch in the hour in January, but that could change. Scrubs promos already have started airing, saying "coming soon to ABC.

As for 'Til Death, Fox has pulled the comedy effective immediately and there are no signs of a return in November or December. Effective next Wednesday (Nov. 5), repeats of House will air in the slot in November. In December, Fox will launch new six hour reality-game show Secret Millionaire on Wednesday, December 3 from 8-10pm, before airing Wednesday (Dec. 10 and 17) at 8pm the following week, so Bones will move from 8 to 9pm. Secret Millionaire will also air Thursdays at 8pm on Dec. 11 & 18 followed by special Thursday airings of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? at 9pm, as Kitchen Nightmares will have its season finale on Dec. 4.
So no sign of a return for the low rated Brad Garrrett sitcom 'Til Death. We'll keep you up to date.

Newport Television's Fox affiliate WAWS Jacksonville, Florida and The CW affiliate WLMT Memphis, TN will offer Retro Television Network's programming lineup of classic TV shows on digital subchannels soon. RTN is a television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed with classic hit shows, in addition to local programming including news, weather and sports. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel.
Shows currently on RTN include 21 Jump Street, Adam 12, Airwolf, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The A-Team, Kojak, Knight Rider, Leave it to Beaver, Jack Benny, Kate & Allie, Bachelor Father, Harry and the Hendersons, That's Incredible, McHale's Navy, Dragnet, and more!

ION Unveils New Look, Website, Line-Up Tonight; Today Reunites Classic Movie Casts; 2 More RTN Affiliates Added

Today, over 94 million households will have the opportunity to tune-in to a reinvented ION Television, repositioned as a compelling new entertainment destination and galvanized by an exciting new brand, ION Television: Positively Entertaining. The new contemporary look and tag line - Positively Entertaining – complement the robust critically acclaimed off-network series – Boston Legal, ER and NCIS – which launch as part of ION Television's strategically acquired fall programming lineup that appeals to a younger audience. The rebranding campaign coincides with the launch of ION Television's new advertisers, distribution partners, shifted viewership, and newly rebranded website, http://www.iontelevision.com/. The new daytime line-up also begins today starting at 4pm with M*A*S*H.
New Website Launch -- iontelevision.com: ION Television extends its breadth beyond television and is launching a newly revamped and rebranded website, www.iontelevision.com. The site will feature numerous new features from streaming video, interactive games, video mash-ups, cast/show information, show trivia, forums and blogs.
ION Television's strategy will focus heavily on expanding its programming offerings in coming television seasons, targeting a strong mix of quality major network TV series, as well as signature originals produced specifically for ION Television. Several key content additions have already been secured, such as the successful Ghost Whisperer and Criminal Minds franchises, which will infuse the lineup in fall 2009.
For more read the Press Release.

Back in February, NBC reunited classic TV casts in their week-long "Together Again" series on the Today show. This week, Today will reunite the casts of three of America's favorite movies. Beginning Monday, September 8, the famed actors of the hit movies The Big Chill, Airplane! and Footloose will talk about their experiences making the films and what it's like to reunite after more than 20 years.
On Monday, Glenn Close, JoBeth Williams, Mary Kay Place, Jeff Goldblum and William Hurt will talk about their Oscar-nominated movie The Big Chill and the impact it had on their generation. On Wednesday, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Hays, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen and Jill Whelan will reunite to chat about their often-quoted, hilarious movie, Airplane! On Friday, Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow and Lori Singer will kick off their Sunday shoes and talk about their dance-filled hit, Footloose. Kenny Loggins will make a special appearance and perform the movie's title song.

More Retro Television Network (RTN) affiliates are coming! Cocola Broadcasting plans to add RTN programming on its Monterey-Salinas, CA and Boise, ID stations. The network will launch next year on KYMB in Monterey-Salinas and KKJB in Boise.

Fox Fall Pilot Review: Do Not Disturb - Premieres September 10; RTN Coming to Knoxville

Do Not Disturb - Wednesdays 9:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Do Not Disturb is a workplace comedy set at one of New York City's hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple's "10 Best Places to Stay," The Inn is just that -- the "in" place to be, with its chic décor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story.

The hotel's top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O'Connell) -- at least in his opinion. Neal is the egotistical, womanizing general manager who will do whatever it takes to make sure the hotel is considered the best party in town. RHONDA (Niecy Nash) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal's demands in check. She's brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble.

At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), the head of housekeeping, who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs; and bellman GUS (Dave Franco), a roadie for a rock band who was left behind when the band left town.

Cast Details:

Stars:
* Niecy Nash as Rhonda Peet
* Jerry O'Connell as Neal
* Molly Stanton as Nicole
* Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Larry
* Jolene Purdy as Molly Poleski
* Dave Franco as Gus
Recurring Stars:
* Brando Eaton as Jason
* Robert Wagner as R.J

I don't know who several of these people are, to be quite sincere. It's not meant to be an offense, but I just don't recognize a lot of the names. There are a few I DO recognize: Jerry O'Connell's TV credits include the series Crossing Jordan, Carpoolers and Sliders. Molly Stanton did the soap Passions and was on the short lived WB sitcom Twins, a generally poor show with a fairly good cast. Robert Wagner is a fairly recognizable name as he has appeared on stage and in screen in many productions (TV's Hart to Hart). Don't recognize anyone else in the cast list, including star Niecy Nash, which is a double-edged sword.

Pilot Plot:

Apparently, the episode I was sent (titled "Work Sex" running 21:54) isn't the pilot but rather the episode Fox is leading off with. The pilot must've really stunk. In "Work Sex," an article about the sexual exploits of the staff -- the staff meaning the Neal character -- appears in a local generic New York magazine. The Rhonda character chides Neal hard for his actions, causing Neal to try to fly the straight-and-narrow when presented with an attractive co-worker. Meanwhile, in typical cliché fashion, Rhonda gets caught up in some office romance herself. Meanwhile, the character Molly (not to be confused with Actress-Molly) helps Nicole (the actress Molly) with her stalled modeling career. Which is guffawingly ironic since character-Molly happens to be...you guessed it...plus-sized. Maybe South Park was on to something a few years ago when they talked about manatees and "idea balls." Actually, the Molly/Nicole stuff provided me some of the biggest chuckles of the episode -- though at no point did I outright laugh. Meanwhile, Gus helps Larry with his love live. And for those of you playing Sitcom Cliché Bingo, yep, Larry's gay.

Analysis:

I couldn't even make it to the analysis before throwing the show under the bus. Seriously, this is the episode they're leading off with? Was the supposed pilot actually WORSE? And they canceled Back to You in order to air this? Really, for goodness sakes? You know if something I see later in the season impresses me I'll be perfectly happy to admit to being wrong. And if the show catches ratings fire of course I'll backtrack since I like to look good. But really, the episode I saw here just wasn't very good. It was taking every played out cliché in the book and just throwing them at the wall. I always reserve the right to change my mind, but what I saw here actually managed to lower my opinion of the show drastically.

It's nothing personal against the folks on the show -- for the roles they're given, they do the best they can though the characters are your usual sitcom throwbacks. The real problem here is the paper-thin writing. It's nothing new. It's all material that we've seen before on a hundred different shows from where I sit. Here's the thing, though: It's still not the worst sitcom on the air. There are other shows on other networks that fit that bill well enough. But at best its background noise that once or twice in 21 minutes might get a chuckle out of you and at worst it's a half-hour jam packed with as many sitcom throwback plot devices and gimmicks as the writers could draw out of a hat.

Conclusion:

When the dirty work needs to be done, that's why I'm brought in. And in less than a thousand words, I hope I've explained exactly why this show just isn't very good. The only bright spot is that it's not very bad either. It is 21 minutes of filler to keep as background noise in between commercials. Which is the minimum you can ask of a TV show anyway. Who knows, if it stays on the air long enough, it might even figure out how to be genuinely funny.

I'll tune in midseason (if it's still on) and give it another look, assuming the show doesn't dive into the CW-inhabited ratings basement within the first three shows. And who knows, the show might catch ratings fire -- that aforementioned show on another network has managed to stay on the air a really long time despite being really bad. But if a great show like Back to You can die on the vine in a year and a thoroughly decent show like ‘Til Death is probably 13 episodes from oblivion, then this show is probably D.O.A. It should at least run for longer than Happy Hour did though -- which at least is a positive. I appreciate that some network is willing to still run multi-camera sitcoms, but come on, try making one of them good (And when you DO make a good one, don't cancel it after one season you fools).

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Funniness: 1.5/5
Watchability: 1.5/5
Overall: 1.5/5

-- Reviewed by Seth on 09/05/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday on our message board.

Related Links:

Fox.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Do Not Disturb Photo Gallery

On to some news...
Gold! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that WMAK-Knoxville, Channel 7, plans to add RTN programming to its lineup beginning Monday.
RTN is of course the first completely customizable, national television network to provide a 24/7 digital feed of hit shows to each of its affiliates. The network's unique design allows each affiliate to remain in complete control while RTN runs the local and national master control from its central hub. RTN also offers customizable news and weather for each market, hosted by network-provided talent.

Nick at Nite September 2008; WGN Changes; Tulsa Gets RTN This Fall; Calling Bob Newhart Fans!

We finally can release the Nick at Nite September 2008 highlights! We knew the details more than two weeks ago, but finally some of the details finally got confirmed. There will be changes to the regular schedule once again...but there are plenty of highlights, including "plenty" of Benny! Grandparent's Day may be less than a week away, but that doesn't mean you can't spend this Labor Day with the mother of all annoying grandmothers. Join Nick at Nite for a full night of George Lopez episodes featuring your favorite Benny episodes...it will be plenty of Benny indeed! The Plenty of Benny marathon airs from 9pm-4am on Labor Day (September 1).
Then it's time to go back to the gym and get ready for the original movie Gym Teacher: The Movie, but first spend an hour of physical activity with your favorite Nick at Nite sitcoms leading up to the movie ... with episodes of Family Matters, Fresh Prince, George Lopez and Home Improvement! Let's Get Physical Week airs Sunday, Sept. 7 through Thursday, Sept. 11 from 9-10pm each night.
After that week-long stunt, Nick at Nite and Nickelodeon invite you for the world premiere of original movie Gym Teacher: The Movie on Friday, September 12 at 8pm. The movie stars Nathan Kress (Nick's iCarly), Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), and Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy). Dave Stewie was America's hope for the Gold in the 1988 Seoul Olympics until he ran face first into the vault. His failure made him a national joke, and he quickly faded into obscurity. Stewie rebuilt his life from the ashes of humiliation to become a gym teacher, but his Olympic competitiveness never left him. Let’s just say that NASA scientists take their job less seriously than Dave takes his job of molding the physical fitness of young people. So when the President announces a national gym class fitness competition, Dave knows that this is his opportunity to redeem himself by leading his class of athletes to triumph.
Launching September 15 on Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite is My Family's Got GUTS. They will air two 10-episode tournaments. My Family's Got GUTS is an extreme sports competition series that brings families together where every member of the team -- from the smallest to the strongest -- plays a vital role and works together to complete each challenge. Each episode will feature a host (Ben Lyons), and three teams of four players (two adults and two kids) who gather in the Extreme Arena to compete against each other in four rounds of events inspired by today's extreme sports.
Coming Sunday, October 5 on Nick at Nite it is the The Worldwide Fido Awards. More on that soon.
View the full Nick at Nite September 2008 highlights.

Well we gave you all not one but two updates on WGN America's fall schedule already...and now here comes update three. Just a few edits, but they are good ones. Starting September 8, weekdays at 4pm ET will now be Becker instead of a full-hour of Funniest Pets & People. Funniest Pets & People will still air at 4:30pm ET, though. Then on Sundays starting Sept. 14 from 5-6pm ET will now be Coach instead of the previously scheduled Funniest Pets & People. Coach will sitll air Saturdays 7-8pm ET later in the fall starting October 4...so good news for Coach fans. Don't forget the Coach marathon tonight and tomorrow! The other changes are minor and involves a few weekend shifting of Scrubs, Reno 911! and Corner Gas, not big deals.
I really advise you all to see the full updated WGN America Fall 2008 line-up.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that Allbritton Communications will add a fourth RTN affiliate, now in Tulsa, OK. The new affiliate will launch this fall on a digital stream of KTUL-TV, the local ABC affiliate. I told you the new affiliate announcements will start to get rolling now!

Calling all Bob Newhart fans! You can find a "Behind the Scenes" of Bob's new show called The Challenge starring Bob Newhart now online at Vimeo! Also, check out Lloyd Garver's blog entry at Strike.TV. The Challenge will be featured when their first slate is released on September 8. So, sign up at Strike.TV to be kept in the loop!

BET September Programming Includes Smart Guy; 5 More RTN Stations to Launch in Early 2009; Network Notes

This September BET will launch Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett, as we previously announced, but they will also launch a new sitcom! Since Diff'rent Strokes and a few others leave after this Friday (don't forget the Strokes farewell marathon this Friday from 9am-6pm!), a sitcom void was needed. BET has acquired the rights to air the '90s sitcom Smart Guy from Buena Vista! T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowry) is a high school sophomore. He isn't just a regular one though. He is a ten-year old tenth grader! After being promoted to high school, T.J. deals with the usual problems of fitting in as a genius, while being a little kid in a big school. Also stars Jason Weaver, Omar Gooding and Essence Atkins. The sitcom was last seen in reruns on The Disney Channel from 1999-2003 with a marathon appearance in fall 2004 for back to school. The series originally ran from 1997-99 on The WB.
BET will launch Smart Guy on Saturday, September 6 with a marathon of the first 10 episodes from 11am-4pm before moving to its regular airing of weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm ET/PT after The Steve Harvey Show starting Monday, September 8.
Other BET portions of the schedule will include Girlfriends airing from 9-10am weekdays starting September 1 and starting September 22 BET will launch Judge Karen at 10am and Judge Hatchett at 10:30am. Back-to-back Hell Date will air in the 11am hour, as the morning "Blackbuster" 10am-12pm movie will be gone. Steve Harvey and Smart Guy round out the daytime weekday series schedule from 4-6pm. Music and rap programming will primarily air elsewhere weekdays, however 11pm and 11:30pm will now will be Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett as well starting Sept. 22. The midnight "Blackbuster" movie follows, as A Different World will now only air sometimes in the 3am hour.
As for weekends, there will be no changes until the weekend of Sept. 27 when Romeo! shifts from the 11am hour to the 9am hour, while Just Jordan remains in the 10am hour, and two hours of Smart Guy airs from 11am-1pm starting Sept. 27 on Saturdays. On Sundays, starting Sept. 28, Judge Karen will air from 1-2pm, no other changes will be made.
Stunts for the month include a marathon of sister station TV Land's original series Family Foreman starring George Foreman on Sunday, Sept. 14 from 1-4pm featuring all six episodes.
Check out the generic BET September Fall 2008 schedule, if you want to see it in a list form.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it has entered into an agreement with New Age Media to launch RTN affiliates in five new markets.
The new affiliates will air on digital streams of WQMY in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania; WPXT in Portland, Maine; WTLH in Tallahassee, Florida; analog station WYPN-CA in Gainesville, Florida; and a new television station in Columbus/Tupelo, Mississippi. The RTN affiliations are anticipated to sign on in early 2009.
These are the first announcements of new RTN affiliates since RTN was sold to Luken Communications...but the first of many to come, so stay tuned!

It's time for another round of network notes! NBC has announced it has picked up nine additional episodes of its sophomore drama Chuck (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) to provide the series with a full-season 22-episode order for 2008-09. The new season launches Monday, September 29.
Fox has announced that Hole in the Wall, the body-bending, global game show, will now air a special preview episode on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT following Fox's first NFL doubleheader of the season and as previously announced on Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 9:35-10:00 PM ET/PT following the series premiere of Fringe on FOX. Hole in the Wall will have its one-hour series premiere Thursday, Sept. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on Fox and will air in that slot thereafter. Fox has still not announced what will air Sunday, Sept. 14 from 9:35-10pm following the Fringe pilot encore.
And finally, like I predicted, the season finale of ABC's High School Musical: Get in the Picture will now air on Monday, September 8, 2008 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT and not September 15 as previously reported. The finale will lead-in to the previously announced CMA special from 9-11PM ET/PT. As a result of that change, The ABC Monday Movie of the Week Batman Begins will now air on Monday, September 15, 2008 from 8:00-11:00 PM ET/PT.

TBS Fall 2008 Line-Up; RTN's New Slogan

A little over a month ago we told you Married...with Children is coming to TBS this September airing weekdays from 6-7am and sometimes between 4-6am as well. TBS only has rights to air the show between 2-7am, so they cannot give it a better slot, unfortunately. However, we also stated Spike TV has gotten the rights from 7am-2am starting September as well. We gave you two updates on that, one for the original story and the other with the schedules times. We will have more on Spike TV's part tomorrow in our Spike TV Fall schedule. But sticking with TBS, they are not really making any changes this fall. For Labor Day weekend they will have two marathons...on Sunday, August 31 from 8am-1pm they will showcase the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for a marathon leading into their Sunday MLB Baseball Game of the Week. Then on Labor Day itself, (Monday, Sept. 1), TBS will showcase the number one sitcom of all-time for basic cable Tyler Perry's House of Payne with a marathon from 10am-8pm, leading into the Family Guy Monday block. They will air the premiere episode of TNT's original drama Raising the Bar on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 11pm following two episodes of The Office. We will have more on TNT's fall line-up in the coming days. Then Tuesdays at 11pm, Frank TV is back with a second season as the late night comedy is back starting Sept. 9! Teen drama Dawson's Creek had been airing on some early morning slots on some days, and its last airing will be late Monday, Sept. 8 at 4:30am ET, as it is no longer scheduled in any other slot through the end of October, so I am not 100% sure, but it seems it might have expired.
Effective Monday, Sept. 15 Married...with Children joins the TBS morning line-up airing weekdays at 6:00am & 6:30am ET. The MLB Playoffs start on TBS on Wednesday, Oct. 1 airing in the afternoon and primetime, so the morning/early afternoon lineup will be a bit altered each day...so when the playoffs are on, you'll have to check your listings to see when the TBS sitcoms are airing. But starting Monday, Sept. 29, TBS will swap Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond's slot. So, Seinfeld will move from 5-6pm to 7-8pm, while Raymond goes from 6:30-8pm to 5-6:30pm, which means Friends is now 6:30pm starting Sept. 29. Also, the primetime blocks are altered a tad as well. Starting Monday, Oct. 20 everything will be back to normal as the MLB Playoffs are over and Fox will do the MLB World Series.
Check out the full TBS Fall 2008 line-up in a list form, and you can also discuss what you think.

Today RTN (Retro Television Network) announced its new slogan "Classic Television Hits All Day, Live Talk all Night." According to RTN spokesman Neal Ardman, RTN will begin to phase out paid programming over the next few months. The goal, said Ardman, is to provide the viewer with compelling programming 24 hours a day. RTN will begin inserting live news, general entertainment, and sports talk shows in the late night and overnight hours beginning in September. Not to worry, Classic TV will still air in the mornings, afternoons, evening and primetime!
Robin Leach has been tapped to produce and host one such, as yet unnamed, show to be produced LIVE in Las Vegas. Another show, Unreliable Sources, a news/talk show with viewer calls, already airs in over 30 markets and is produced at the RTN studios.
RTN is currently sold in 72 markets and last week went on the air in Washington, D.C. on WJLA-DT. RTN is the only network that is customized for each market.

RTN's New Line-Up and Answers To Fan Questions; New Digital TV Channel Coming Nationwide With MGM Classics

As many of you with Retro Television Network (RTN) affiliates already know, RTN changed their line-up last week (July 21). They primarily had CBS-Paramount shows on their line-up such as Perry Mason, Happy Days, The Beverly Hillbillies, Family Ties, Gomer Pyle, Get Smart, etc. But they also had other studio shows mixed in such as NBC Universal and Stephen J. Cannell. They also seem to have a few Sony shows on some affiliates still, such as The Monkees and The Partridge Family. Now the CBS-Paramount deal has expired, so those shows are gone, and RTN currently has Universal and Cannell shows only. Some of these shows were already airing on many RTN affiliates, but now more are added such as Leave it to Beaver, Adam-12, Dragnet, Kate & Allie, McHale's Navy, and That's Incredible! With of course the classics like The A-Team, Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., Rockford Files, Ironside and many others remaining.
After this new schedule started, all the affiliates are almost the same (more uniform than before) as RTN is trying to air a nationwide line-up, as this might help them. This NBC Universal and Stephen J. Cannell line-up can let them do that, as some of the CBS-Paramount shows were also in syndication on another station in other markets (such as Matlock), that's why some shows weren't available in some markets. That is not to say the CBS-Paramount shows will ever return, but if this works, you can see them return. Also, RTN is not ruling out by signing more studio deals, such as Sony and Warner Bros. They are all for the viewers and classic TV.
Also, many of your local RTN affiliates have some rare programs listed on your local RTN TV listings such as Bachelor Father and Operation Petticoat listed but they haven't actually aired yet and more Leave it to Beaver is airing instead. Why? Because some of these shows have been stuck inside Universal's vault for many years and they are just now getting them out. Honestly, can you think of the last time Bachelor Father was aired? Also, if you recall there was a fire at Universal a few months ago, so that is a cause for this delay, too. RTN has told me they will indeed air these shows not airing yet. They will most likely start by this weekend (if not sooner), so keep checking! If not by this weekend, for sure at the latest by sometime next week. They will air! So get those DVRs/VCR's ready for rare Universal stuff like Operation Petticoat, Wagon Train, Run For Your Life, The Bold Ones, and Bachelor Father. Kudos to RTN for trying and bringing out the classics from the vault that have been barely seen in the last few decades.
Many of you also asked how come there hasn't been more announcements for some new RTN affiliates? Well, they were recently bought by another company (as we mentioned), and they are just settling in. You will see more announcements of new stations in the near future! If you don't have an RTN affiliate yet, don't worry, you could be next! RTN is very happy to note that Washington, D.C.'s RTN has gone live today! A big step! Nothing for New York yet, but those of you in the NY market, e-mail WCBS, WABC, WNBC or WNYW (Fox) and suggest to add RTN to their digital broadcasts.
So how can YOU help RTN? RTN says if you really like RTN, e-mail/call your local affiliates and tell them you love RTN and watch it everyday. This is the best way to help RTN as this shows the affiliates that viewers are happy and tuning in. The comments about RTN are then sent to RTN themselves, so they get each comment you make to your local affiliate. So go to your local station's website or call them (if you don't know your RTN's website, email me and I'll tell you!)!
Head on over to our RTN thread where you can see/post RTN schedules, see press releases, post your comments and more! It is 22 pages so far and growing!

From the people who brought you Me-TV and Me-Too in Chicago will bring you "This TV" coming nationwide to a digital channel near you in October! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is rolling out "This TV," a new ad-supported around-the-clock linear digital channel designed for broadcast stations' digital spectrum. The new network, a partnership with Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting (Me-TV, Me-Too, WCIU owners), will launch this fall. It gets immediate carriage with Weigel stations in Chicago, Milwaukee and South Bend, Ind. The idea is for MGM is to leverage its library of more than 4,100 films and 10,000 hours of television programming, but also to give stations the chance to localize the look.
This TV will offer stations programming all day every day, but stations signing on have the right to a certain number of pre-emptions so that they can localize the channel with sports, news and weather if they want.
The lineup will be film-heavy, with possible MGM titles including 12 Angry Men and Class, starring Rob Lowe. It also will have some MGM classic television shows mixed in there ranging from The Addams Family to Thirtysomething. We're working on a full list of shows they will air, so come on back...but beware the channel will mainly be a film network.
The line-up will also feature children's programming from Cookie Jar Entertainment, with shows such as Johnny Test, The Doodlebops and Caillou.
The goal for the network is at least a 40% clearance across the country within the first year.
We will have more on This TV for sure soon! So stay tuned!

Equity's RTN Sold to Luken Communications; Me-Too in Chicago Airing Classic Movies Now, Too, More TV Shows Added

Equity Media Holdings Corporation announced it has closed an asset sales transaction with Luken Communications, LLC, a group led by Equity Media's largest shareholder Henry Luken III (the "Investors"). The Investors purchased Equity Media's Retro Television Network (RTN) subsidiary for $18.50 million. Equity Media has the option to repurchase RTN at any time during the next six months. Concurrently with the closing of the RTN sale, the Investors purchased for $1.50 million warrants to purchase up to 8,050,000 shares of Equity Media for $1.10 per share. Equity Media also has entered into asset purchase agreements with the Investors for the sale by Equity Media of certain television stations. Equity Media has received a $5 million prepayment on the stations sale from the Investors. The stations sale will be consummated, and Equity Media will receive the remaining payment of $12.5 million, upon receipt of FCC and certain other approvals. Following consummation of the station sales, Equity Media will continue to own and operate 100 stations in 35 markets representing 24.8% of U.S. television households based on Equity Media's current stations roster.
View the full press release for more details. So what does this mean? It is hard to tell. I have asked RTN to see what is up, so I'll let you all know what they say. I think it won't affect current RTN affiliates. It doesn't mean the network is on its way out or that it won't add more stations since it was sold to another group, but I don't know if this is good or bad. We'll have to see in the coming weeks.

Beginning Monday June 30 at 7:00pm, Me-Too (WMEU-TV) in Chicago rolls out the red carpet for "Me-Too Movie Classics," a showcase for a wide variety of Hollywood's greatest movies, stars and directors. From the classic to kitsch to cult, "Me-Too's Movie Classics" brings back classic films to free, over the air television with minimal content editing and only five minutes of internal commercial break time.
Theme weeks include a look at significant movies of the 1970s featuring Easy Rider, Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice and Butterflies Are Free. A week of screwball/classic comedies includes The Twentieth Century, Born Yesterday and the original Brewster's Millions. A week of Joan Crawford classics include the truly classic as well as campy Crawford performances from the 1950s and 1960s.
Adding classic movies to the schedule of Me-Too serves to further distinguish Me-Too as the snappy sibling of Me-TV, Chicago's beloved home of Classic TV, and provide a unique and uncluttered environment for advertisers seeking an engaged, loyal and receptive audience.
The movies will air weeknights at 7:00pm and Saturdays at 1:00pm with many other stars like Jack Lemmon, Jack Nicholson, Jackie Gleason, Jane Fonda, Carl Reiner, Peter Falk, Dick Van Dyke, Burt Reynolds and John Ritter. The movies for the summer are available in a list form on our message boards. You may also discuss the movie list and stars there, which also has a lot of classic TV stars in feature films.

Adding movies is not the only thing happening on June 30. Me-Too will change their classic TV line-up a bit too. Me-Too launched back in March with this launch schedule, that has continued until today, but now some changes are coming. Gilligan's Island, Ozzie and Harriet, Rawhide, are among the new series coming to Me-Too. View the new Me-Too schedule.

RTN Salutes Get Smart As New Movie Opens; Classic TV Stars Honored at EMA's Home Entertainment Awards

Retro Television Network in Detroit, Michigan will honor Get Smart this Sunday with two classic episodes. The episodes are airing of course because the new Get Smart movie starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway opens in theaters today. RTN in Detroit will run two episodes of Get Smart in primetime at 7:00pm & 7:30pm on Sunday (June 22). It will also be simulcasted on WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, preempting ABC network programming for that hour (a repeat of AFV).
RTN in Detroit regularly airs Get Smart weeknights at 11:00pm, but this is huge when two episodes are airing in primetime on ABC Detroit!
We will let you know if any other RTN affiliates are honoring Get Smart with something similar as soon as we know. So you might want to keep checking back here in this spot.

On Tuesday, June 24 in Las Vegas, the EMA Home Media Expo 2008/EMA Home Entertainment Awards will be held. From 9am-5:30pm Exhibits and Conference will be going on and following that will be the Awards Show from 7:30-9pm.
There will be a salute to classic TV stars at the awards. Among the honorees:
Josie Davis - Favorite Television Child Star for Charles in Charge (Arts Alliance America will release the fourth season of Charles in Charge, which starred Scott Baio as a babysitter for the Powell family, on DVD Nov. 18.)
Don Most & Anson Williams - Legendary Television Duo for Happy Days
Paul Petersen - Legendary Television Son for The Donna Reed Show
Charlene Tilton - Legendary Television Bad Girl for Dallas
Jamie Kennedy - Award Show Host
Plus Classic TV Stars Peter Brown (Laredo), Robert Fuller (Laramie), and Denny Miller (Wagon Train).
Visit homemediaexpo.com for more info.

BET Adds More Marathons; RTN Comes to Pennsylvania Affiliate

Yesterday we gave you the good news that Diff'rent Strokes has been given another hour on weekdays (3-4pm) starting next week, but now have more good news! The Diff'rent Strokes marathon was such a success this past Sunday (April 6) that BET will give us another marathon! The marathon will be on Sunday, April 20...this time the marathon is just three-hours instead of eight, but we will get the three-hours in primetime! The marathon will air from 8-11pm ET/PT, with very special episodes. Willis battles a drinking problem in "A Growing Problem" at 8pm, at 8:30pm in "Indepenent Woman," Kimberly has a new job but her boss tries to go after her...but only so he can get good with Mr. Drummond, then we have the very special 2-part episode "The Bicycle Man" from 9-10pm where Arnold and Dudley are lured by a child molestor. Closing out the night from 10-11pm are "Romeo & Juliet" where Arnold and his nemesis Lisa are assigned the roles of Romeo & Juliet in a play and finally we have "My Fair Larry," where a high school thug is about to "make it" with Kimberly.
BET also will have a Malcolm & Eddie marathon this Saturday (April 19 from 9am-7pm), as we previously announced. Future marathons include a Thea marathon on Sunday, May 11 and another Sanford marathon on Sunday, June 15. Those are still tentative, so we will have full details closer to the airdates for those, such as timings and episode info. But for now enjoy the Malcolm & Eddie full-day marathon this Saturday and the primetime Diff'rent Strokes marathon this Sunday! BET is sure handling these sitcoms well and other networks should follow their strategy because it seems to be working for them.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that COX Television plans to add a 7th RTN affiliate on its Johnstown/Altoona/State College, PA station. The network's "Prime Time All the Time" lineup will launch early next year on a digital stream of WJAC-TV, COX's NBC affiliate in the market.
Also, for those of you wonderding RTN's official website is back online. I am not sure what happened before but it was asking for a username/password and many of you wrote to us about the problem. So, head on over to the RTN website now if you haven't checked it out.

The N Revamps April Schedule Again; King of the Hill Returns for Season 13; RTN Coming to Palm Springs, CA

On Monday, we gave you details on The N revamping its schedule and adding Brothers Garcia and trimming All That to just one airing a day. Well, it seems The N has once again edited their schedule and All That is NOT being trimmed now. In the previous version, weekdays from 6am-3pm was not being changed at all, but that is not true now. Some minor edits will occur...Brothers Garcia will air at 7am, All That moves to 8am, and the three in a row shots of One on One and Moesha from 9am-12pm is reduced to just back-to-back episodes from 9-11am, as a result, Growing Pains will move back an hour to 11am-12pm. Radio Free Roscoe takes the 12pm hour and Instant Star takes the 1pm hour...so no more Clueless from 1-3pm, but it will remain 2-3pm. 3-4pm will now be Brothers Garcia, instead of the previously announced 4-5pm slot. All That will remain 4-5pm weekdays and will also air on weekends in that slot. Brothers Garcia will remain 9-10am and 12-1pm on weekends as previously announced.
For the FULL schedule click HERE!

Fox has ordered an additional season (season 13) of the animated series King of the Hill. One of the longest-running comedies currently on primetime television, the series depicts the life and times of Hank Hill, his family and his neighbors in the fictional town of Arlen, TX. King of the Hill currently airs Sundays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox.
Since the episodes are done well in advance, we will likely not see these 13 episodes start until February 2009 or March 2009 because still a lot of episodes from season 12 are left to air. I even heard some that were produced for season 11 still remain, too...don't quote me on that, though.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will add a Palm Springs, CA affiliate next month on KDPX-TV. The station is available over-the-air on Channel 45 and on Time Warner Cable on Channel 14.

Don't forget BET's 8-hour star-studded Diff'rent Strokes marathon this Sunday from 1-9pm ET/PT. BET has even put some fun facts on their website for it!

NBC Announces 2008-09 Season Schedules; RTN Announces 3 More Affiliates, Launches Official Website

NBC today unveiled its new lineup for the 2008-09 television season, introducing a schedule earlier than ever. All the other networks will continue announcing the schedule in the annual upfronts in mid-May, but NBC has decided to break that tradition and announce the schedule 6 weeks earlier than normal. Also, they have actually made actual timeslots for the entire year, going with a 52-week schedule. Among the series they have picked-up for the fall are sitcom Kath & Kim, and new dramas Knight Rider, My Own Worst Enemy and Crusoe. Coming in mid-season are The Office spin-off, new dramas The Philanthropist, Merlin and Kings.
Returning to the NBC schedule next season will be ER, the most-nominated series in Emmy Award history, returning for its 15th and final season on NBC's Thursday night lineup, and the acclaimed Friday Night Lights, slated to re-join the Friday schedule in February as part of a unique broadcast partnership between NBC and DIRECTV. NBC would begin broadcasting the Season 3 episodes on Fridays (9-10 p.m. ET), starting soon after NBC's telecast of the Super Bowl in 2009. DIRECTV would have exclusive rights to the season's 13 new episodes beginning Wednesday, October 1 on DIRECTV's entertainment channel "The 101."
NBC also announced today that the post Super Bowl slot, will be used to launch a spinoff of the network's hit comedy series, The Office. Immediately following NBC Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLIII, the network will first present an original episode of The Office, followed by the debut of the new Greg Daniels comedy.
Also, a surprise on the schedule is the return of Lipstick Jungle, which will move to Wednesdays now. Law & Order will return in the winter for an all-new season. No sign of Scrubs returning, so it could be very well moving to ABC next season.
Here are the schedules:

Fall 2008
(New programs in CAPS, except ER)
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. Chuck
9-10 p.m. Heroes
10-11 p.m. MY OWN WORST ENEMY
TUESDAY
8- 9:30 p.m. The Biggest Loser: Families
9:30-10 p.m. KATH & KIM
10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. KNIGHT RIDER
9-10 p.m. Deal or No Deal
10-11 p.m. Lipstick Jungle
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. My Name Is Earl
8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
9- 9:30 p.m. The Office
9:30-10 p.m. The Office/ SNL THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE
10-11 p.m. ER
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. CRUSOE
9-10 p.m. Deal or No Deal
10-11 p.m. Life
SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. Dateline NBC
9-10 p.m. KNIGHT RIDER (Encores)
10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Encores)
SUNDAY
7- 8:20 p.m. Football Night in America
8:20-11 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football

For the winter and summer 2009 schedules, and more on all these new series, I advise you to click HERE! You wanna bet we will see changes to the winter and summer 2009 right? Maybe even Fall 2008 will see changes. It makes no sense to release winter and summer 2009 already.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Citadel Communications Company to launch RTN programming in three markets. The new affiliates will air on the digital streams of WOI-TV (Des Moines-Ames, IA), KLKN-TV (Lincoln, NE) and WHBF-TV (Davenport, IA/Rock Island-Moline, IL).
Meanwhile, their official website is now up! RetroTelevision.net is their website. The website has details on RTN, their programming, shows, affiliates, how to advertise and how to contact them. It's 'primetime all the time' has now hit the web! The Fonz, Mr. T, Andy, Lucy, Matlock and the rest of RTN's finest are now online! Take a peek...it is pretty well designed, too!

Remembering Ivan Dixon, RTN Salutes With Hogan's Heroes Marathon; House and Monk Line-Up Stations for Fall 2008 Syndication

Ivan Dixon, an actor, director and producer best known for his role as Sgt. "Kinch" Kinchloe on the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, has died. Dixon died Sunday at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC after a hemorrhage and of complications from kidney failure. He was best known for the role of U.S. Staff Sgt. James "Kinch" Kinchloe on Hogan's Heroes, a satire set in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Kinchloe, in charge of electronic communications, could mimic German officers on the radio or phone. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the 1967 CBS Playhouse special The Final War of Olly Winter. He was primarily an actor in the '60s with guest spots on many hit dramas such as Dr. Kildare, Love American Style, The Fugitive, It Takes a Thief, Ironside, Perry Mason, I Spy, and more. He didn't act much after the start of the '70s. His last acting role was in 1991 on an episode of Father Dowling Mysteries.
After acting on television, he moved on to directing and directed hundreds of episodes of series, including The Waltons, The Bill Cosby Show, The A-Team, Greatest American Hero, The Rockford Files, Magnum, P.I. and In the Heat of the Night.
He will certainly be missed by sitcom fans. He was 76.
Some Retro Television Network affiliates will honor Ivan Dixon tonight with a special tribute marathon. WNGS, WPXI, WSB, KKYK, KCBU, KSUB, and WBIF are among the RTN affiliates saluting Ivan Dixon tonight with a Hogan's Heroes marathon. The Hogan's Heroes "Kinch-themed" episodes that will air are (in order): "Prince From the Phone Company," "The Tower," "General Hammerschlag Burning," "They Fall," "Monkey Business," and "The Informer" (Pilot, in black and white). Check your local RTN listings for exact times in your area.

When we brought you the list of shows coming to off-network syndication and first-run syndication this fall we forgot to list drama House, which will air on weekends. NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution recently announced it has sold hit series House and Monk (we mentioned Monk before) to local broadcast stations in 99% of the U.S. for weekend syndication runs starting this fall.
House has been sold to stations from Fox, CBS, Tribune, Sinclair, Clear Channel, Meredith, Media General, Cox and more. Top markets for House in syndication include WNYW-TV New York, KTTV-TV Los Angeles, WFLD-TV Chicago and KPIX-TV San Francisco. The show will enter its fifth season this fall on Fox.
Monk has been sold to stations from NBC, CBS, Fox, Hearst-Argyle, Tribune, Fisher, Scripps, Raycom, Belo, Post-Newsweek and other leading station groups. Top markets for Monk include WNBC-TV New York, KNBC-TV Los Angeles and WFLD-TV Chicago, as well as WPHL-TV Philadelphia, WSBK-TV Boston, KNTV-TV San Francisco and WFAA-TV Dallas. Monk just ended its sixth season on USA Network and will have a seventh season soon.

TV Land May 2008 Highlights; RTN Adds 2 More Affiliates; Hulu.com Launches

As promised, we will bring you TV Land May 2008 highlights today! No schedule changes are being made thus far, so we should expect the same changes that happened on March 10. New original series The Big 4-0 will continue through May 14, Wednesdays at 10. It starts April 16, of course, as we mentioned in the April highlights. For every mom whose ever wanted to sit back and watch dad do the work, TV Land's Movie Land block offers Three Men and a Baby, celebrating Mother's Day Weekend on May 9 and 10. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg star as three swinging bachelor roommates who find a baby girl on their doorstep. Moms everywhere can sit back and relax as they watch three ill-equipped men try to tackle a job that normally only take one woman to accomplish!
The TV Land Movie Week for May has a lot of fun. Grab your popcorn and kick back as Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline lead an all-star cast of diamond thieves in the hilariously funny A Fish Called Wanda on Monday. Tuesday, the star power continues with Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Tom Selleck who find themselves thrust into fatherhood in Three Men and A Baby. Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith duke it out in the workplace on Wednesday with Working Girl. Thursday brings an out of this world experience with Christopher Lloyd, Elizabeth Hurley, Jeff Daniels and Darryl Hannah in My Favorite Martian, based on the '60s TV series.
The regular Friday Movie Land block in May features movies such as E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Working Girl, A Fish Called Wanda, Flashdance.
TV Land will feature all of the best and brightest M*A*S*H episodes the weekend of May 17-19. They're fun, odd and unforgettable! If that wasn't enough, TV Land has got the highest rated episode in television history, the M*A*S*H Finale, plus the 20th & 30th anniversary M*A*S*H Reunions!
This Memorial Day, it's a day full of TV Land's newest and brightest originals. Starting at 8am, it's enjoyable and adventurous birthday celebrations with The Big 4-0. Then at 11am the fun never ends with the classmates from High School Reunion and at 5pm Myths and Legends reveals stars best kept secrets and some of the greatest stories in Hollywood. A primetime marathon of Andy Griffith rounds out the night.
Finally, on Saturday, May 31, there's only one "fabulous", "chic" and "sassy" man who can take TV Land's fashion head-on–celebrity stylist and judge of TV Land's new original reality series, She's Got The Look (premiering June 4) ... Robert Verdi! Integrated in surprising "pop-up" flags, Robert entertains viewers with his lovably-snarky fashion commentary of everyone's favorite TV Land characters, from the mile-high trousers of Jethro Bodine to the super shoulder pads of our Designing Women and Miami Vice.
For more on TV Land May 2008, click HERE!

Retro Television Network (RTN announced that it plans to add an RTN affiliate in Evansville, IN. The new affiliate will launch this summer on a digital stream of WEHT-TV, Evansville's ABC affiliate that is owned by Gilmore Broadcasting Company. Evansville will see James Garner in Rockford Files, Jack Klugman in Quincy, M.E., Raymond Burr in Ironside, Jack Lord in Hawaii 5-0 and Don Adams in Get Smart on weekdays. On the weekends, viewers will see The Partridge Family, The Monkees, The A-Team, Knight Rider, Kojak, Airwolf, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West and many more.
Meanwhile, Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with Trans-America Broadcasting Corporation to launch an RTN affiliation in Fresno, CA. The network will begin airing in April on a digital stream of KAIL-TV. Hit shows like Perry Mason, The Rockford Files, Magnum, P.I. and Hawaii 5-0 will air weekdays, while the weekend lineup will include Emergency!, Kojak, Airwolf, The A-Team, Knight Rider and The Wild Wild West.

Hulu.com, a joint venture between News Corp. (Fox) and NBC Universal has launched! Obviously it will have current Fox and NBC shows on here such as 'Til Death, The Simpsons, House, Law & Order, ER and The Office, but it has SO much more from other outlets. Hulu.com is a vast online library of ad-supported TV shows and movies. Other networks on Hulu are Bravo (The Real Housewives of New York City, Make Me A Supermodel , etc), NBC Universal's Chiller (Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Tremors, etc), E! (Pop Fiction), Fox Reality Channel (Paradise Hotel 2), Classic Fox (Arrested Development, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart Show, etc), FX (Dirt, 30 Days, etc), MGM (Addams Family, Fame, etc), Sony's Minisode Network (Facts of Life, Dilbert, Married with Children), MyNetworkTV (Decision House), Classic NBC (A-Team, Knight Rider, The Munsters Today, Problem Child animated, etc), NBC Universal (Jerry Springer, etc), Sci-Fi Channel (Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, etc), NBC Universal's Slueth Network (Simon & Simon, Miami Vice), Sony-owned (Benson, Archie Bunker's Place, What's Happening Now!!, Married with Children, Who's the Boss?, etc), Universal Media (Major Dad, Adam-12, Airwolf, etc), USA Network (Monk, Psych, Starter Wife, etc), and Warner Bros. (Welcome Back Kotter). Wow! Most of the shows are full episodes, but some are clips as well. This will be a treat for everyone as it will have something you like, I'm sure! Check it out!

3 More RTN Affiliates; More Step by Step on ABC Family

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it will partner with Four Points Media Group to add RTN affiliates in Austin, TX; Utah; and West Palm Beach, FL. The new affiliates will launch this year in Austin on a digital stream of KEYE-TV, in Utah on analog station KUSG and in West Palm Beach on a digital stream of WTVX.
Great news for those markets...it had been awhile since we gotten some RTN news, so don't worry, more will come I'm sure. It is sure growing fast!

We posted that ABC Family changed their minds about putting Step by Step back to weekday afternoons, and the show would only air continue to weekdays at 9am. Well, we got SOME good news now for Step by Step fans...the show will continue to air weekdays at 9am but now starting March 15 it will also gain Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7-8am....so four episodes a weekend! Better than nothing! It will replace Sister, Sister on weekends.

We will end today with a preview of what is to come this week on the blog. Tomorrow we will have a review of the new Fox sitcom The Return of Jezebel James, which launches Friday. We will highlight ION April 2008 and TV Land May 2008 as well this week. We will also have a review of the new ABC sitcom Miss Guided in the coming days, as it will launch next Tuesday with a special preview episode.

BET Schedule Updates, Sanford Marathon Planned; TV One Revises Programming in March; RTN Comes to D.C.; CBS Brings Classic TV to Online

TGIF! It is a busy (and snowy in NY) Friday here on the blog, as we have quite a lot of stories today!
First we still start with BET. As you recall, we announced on Monday that BET is now airing Diff'rent Strokes and Malcolm & Eddie weekdays and they will bring out short-lived series Sanford and Thea on weekends starting March 1. Now we have some updates for you. We have gotten word that Diff'rent Strokes will also air Saturdays 9-10am, in addition to its weekdays 9-10am slot. It will start airing on Saturdays next Saturday (March 1). However, the Saturday airings will be two repeats from earlier in the week, mostly from the previous Monday's airings earlier in the week. We mentioned the show could air 3-4pm starting next week, but that won't be the case, it will only air 9-10am. Malcolm & Eddie will also air on Saturdays, at 10-11am and 4-5pm. It won't air 11pm-12am, though, that will be only Mon-Fri, while its other slots will be Mon-Sat. A Girlfriends marathon is tomorrow, that is why we are not getting both of these shows tomorrow.
We mentioned that Sanford and Thea will join the weekend line-up late night on Saturday, March 1, which is technically early Sunday morning, airing 2:30am and 3:00am respectively. They will encore later in the day on Sunday at 11:30am and 12pm. Yeah, so we knew that already, but now we have learned that BET will have an all-day San"forward" Marathon on Saturday, March 8 from 10am-11pm just in time for Daylight Savings, as we move our clocks one-hour ahead later that night as we spring forward, or should I say San"forward." And get this, all 26 episodes of Sanford will air back-to-back all day! What a dream come true for Sanford fans! Get those TiVo's, DVR's and VCR's or whatever you use rolling because this is your chance to get every single episode in one shot! Now I have an idea for BET, when we move our clocks back in the fall, we should have a Diff'rent "back"Strokes marathon as we move our clocks one-hour back doing a backstroke. Just a thought! Anyway, BET is certainly looking bright now sitcom wise and we hope they continue this! Be sure you have some chips, nachos, and more snacks ready for this very rare marathon on March 8!

Moving on to another African American network, TV One, we have some changes in store for March. We announced March highlights already, but there are a lot of edits to it now. The TV One premiere of the action series Day Break has be postponed until Sunday, March 16. On Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16, both at 8pm, Taye time is finally here as the weekend with Taye Diggs is now this weekend instead of March 8 and 9 as TV One premieres the Cool Factor and How Stella Got Her Groove Back starring Taye, Angela Bassett, and Whoopi Goldberg. An encore airing is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 at 12am following the premiere of Day Break from 10pm-12am. The weekend with Taye Diggs continues on TV One Sunday, March 16 at 10pm with the TV One premiere of the recent ABC action series Day Break starring Taye Diggs as a law enforcement officer framed for murder. The series will premiere with two back-to-back episodes to air at 10pm and 11pm and will premiere episodes on Sundays at 10pm.
On Saturday, March 22 beginning at 1pm and lasting to 10pm, it's time to get your praise on as the sitcom Amen returns to TV One back by popular demand with an all-day 'Best of Deacon Frye' marathon to give viewers a special treat before it returns to the regular schedule on weekdays at 6am & 6:30am beginning on Monday, March 24th replacing Roc on the TV One schedule, which will be off the line-up now.
Finally, The Hughleys: "All in the Family Launch Marathon" previously announced for Tuesday, April 1 will now air as a two-day weekend marathon on Saturday, April 5 & Sunday, April 6 starting at 1pm both days for this '90s sitcom. We will have more on The Hughleys' regular slots in the April highlights coming soon! Stay tuned for that!

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it will partner with Allbritton Communications to bring RTN programming to Washington, D.C. The new affiliate will launch late this year on a digital stream of Washington, D.C.'s ABC affiliate, WJLA-TV.
Allbritton began airing RTN's "Prime Time All the Time" lineup today on a digital stream of WSET-TV (Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA). RTN is scheduled to launch later this year on a digital stream of WHTM-TV (Harrisburg-Lancaster, PA).

CBS Interactive announced that it will begin offering Television Classics from the CBS (Paramount) Library, which is one of the largest television programming libraries in the entertainment business, online and across the CBS Audience Network. The initial lineup includes full-length episodes of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0 and Melrose Place, with more programs and clips to be added in the coming months. The distribution of Television Classics across the CBS Audience Network follows the same open, non-exclusive strategy that CBS has been using for its content online for the last nine months. All content is ad-supported, free to the consumer, and available immediately.
The initial programming lineup for Television Classics on CBS.com and across the CBS Audience Network includes full episodes the following:
Star Trek (original series) - Seasons 1, 2 and 3
The Twilight Zone - Seasons 1 and 2
MacGyver - Season 1
Hawaii Five-0 - Season 1
Melrose Place - Season 1
Let's hope they add some sitcoms as well, and some sitcoms that lasted awhile and haven't been aired on TV lately, such as Dear John and Webster. Series such as Family Ties, Cheers, The Love Boat, would also be nice to have.

It's only noon ET and we already have a lot of stories, but if anything breaking happens, we will break in. So come on back!

Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois

Well we all know the strike is just about over. Yesterday I mentioned that they had a press conference. So what happened in it? They announced a vote will be held on Tuesday. A yes vote means they are voting to end the strike immediately; a no vote means they are voting to continue the strike during the ratification process.
So the strike has unofficially ended, but it won't be official until after this vote. It is widely expected that the WGA members will indeed vote yes on the new deal and the writers would return to work Wednesday.
So today is technically still day 99 of the strike. And tomorrow is day 100, the last day technically of the strike. How cool is it that this will all end officially on day 100. We will have more on the vote and more details this week.

You all know about ME-TV in Chicago. The local Chicago station (WWME-23) that airs classic TV, well now the same people will bring ME-TV in Milwaukee! ME-TV will launch in Milwaukee March 1 with a lineup that will include programs such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Lost in Space.
ME-TV in Milwaukee will be on a new digital subchannel on Channel 58.3 (WDJT). In addition to being available over the air at 58.3, it will have a spot on the Time Warner and Charter digital lineups. For the record, Channel 58's less-than-full power sister channel, WMLW-TV - Channel 41 over the air and Channel 7 on Time Warner Cable - airs at 58.2.
Stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for this new ME-TV station in Milwaukee! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Sticking with ME-TV, ME-TV in Chicago is still going strong. It just launched its new Chill with Me winter line-up and added shows such as Gilligan's Island and My Favorite Martian. Now, WWME (ME-TV Chicago) has announced it intends to add classic reruns to WFBT-Ch. 48 and rename it WMEU-TV beginning March 1. WWME-23 has called itself ME-TV. WFBT-48 will call itself ME-Too.
Besides being broadcast and carried by some area cable providers, the channels also will be available on digital sub-channels belonging to sister station WCIU-Ch. 26, WCIU-DT 26.2 and 26.3 respectively.
Between ME-TV and ME-Too, more than 100 different series will be aired! Having ME-Too will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.
Among the shows we will see will be a Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature sitcoms Square Pegs, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Also we can expect a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of Route 66, Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip and Boris Karloff's Thriller.
Let's hope ME-TV and ME-Too expand to more cities. It would be nice to have at least a ME-TV in most markets...Chicago and Milwaukee are very lucky! I hope we get one in New York!
As we said about ME-TV Milwaukee's launch schedule, stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for Chicago's ME-Too! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, something similar to ME-TV is of course Retro Television Network. RTN is now well over in 50 different markets and growing each day! Retro Television Network announced that it will partner with GOCOM Media of Illinois to bring RTN programming to Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, IL. The network will launch early next year on one of the digital streams of WRSP/WBUI.

Day 95: WGA's Strike; Family Ties Reunion on Today; Nick at Nite News; RTN Adds Maryland Affiliate

Well today is day 95 of the strike. Some shows are actually getting ready to go back into production, which a sure sign the strike will end soon for sure. The big hits like Grey's Anatomy, House, Desperate Housewives, CSI will all for sure return to the air, but some new shows like Dirty Sexy Money, Pushing Daisies, Moonlight could be held back until the fall for more promotional push. Traditional sitcoms like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Back to You could be back on the air the earliest, as it doesn't take much time for them to get back to work...we could see them back on-air in mid-late March.
As far as single camera sitcoms go, The Office has scripts ready already, so it can get on the air as fast as the traditional sitcoms. Samantha Who has three episodes left, it is a question mark though if ABC will hold on to those until the fall or get back into production right away and get in more episodes for this season. With Dancing with the Stars returning, it makes sense to get Samantha back in production ASAP for this season.
We will certainly know much more when the strike officially ends, on what will return and what won't.

The cast of NBC's Family Ties all gathered for the first time in 18 years on Thursday on NBC's Today show to help promote a new memoir, titled "Sit, Ubu, Sit," by the creator of the iconic 1980's television sitcom, Gary David Goldberg. Joining Gary David Goldberg were Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Batemen and Tina Yothers.
"Had it not been for this book, we would not have had this reunion. This is the first time in about 18 years that we have all been on the same piece of real estate at the same time," said Michael Gross.
You can read more about this reunion that took place this morning, and watch the entire video of it by clicking HERE!
And don't forget the third season is on DVD next week. See our review for details on it and how to order! Sha la la la!

Updating our story from yesterday on Nick at Nite's overnight changes, they will indeed make these changes for the rest of the month at least rather than just this week. So, we will see a pattern of Full House, Roseanne and Cosby Show in the overnights. So Fresh Prince will be just 11pm-12am, joining Home Improvement and George Lopez in primetime, while the other three shows are for late owls.
For the schedule of the overnights, click HERE!

Yet more RTN news! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will launch an RTN affiliate in Salisbury, MD. The network will begin airing on WRDE in the 4th quarter of this year on the station's digital channel. The station is currently being acquired by XBC Broadcasting, LLC, pending FCC approval.

Day 93: WGA's Strike; Perfect Strangers DVD; RTN Coming to Rio Grande Valley

We are now on day 93 of the strike. We are closer and closer each day for this thing to end. The WGA has set membership meetings for this Saturday in Los Angeles and New York to inform their members on the latest developments in negotiations with the producers and perhaps give the industry an idea of how close the strike is to being settled.
WGA chairman John Bowman said neither the negotiating committee nor the WGA boards will "take action on the contract until after the membership meetings." So it doesn't seem we'll get an announcement on the end of the strike this week...but maybe early next week? Pray!

The Perfect Strangers DVD is out today! Warner Home Video is finally releasing this series on DVD and we get the complete first and second seasons on DVD TODAY! Order it if you haven't already by clicking HERE! We just got the DVD today unfortunately for review, so I am working hard to get this review up for you all by the end of today. This is an extra special review, because so many have waited so long for this day, that I must let you all know about the DVD. But please order it...so we can be assured of all seasons on DVD in the near future.
Come on back for a link to our review...you'll find the link to it on the message boards, the main page of the website, the DVD reviews page, and right here on the blog on our DVD Pick of the Week! And my good friend Linda Kay, who runs PerfectStrangers.TV has put up her review already! Like everything she does, it is a great read. What a nice detailed review with lots of images. Check out her review on her website. I'm off now to finish this review up...check back!

UPDATE: Perfect Strangers - The Complete First and Second Seasons DVD Review

RTN keeps on growing guys! Yet another announcement today! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will bring RTN programming to Harlingen/Weslaco/Brownsville/McAllen, TX (Rio Grande Valley). The new affiliate is scheduled to air later this year on a digital stream of the market-leading ABC affiliate, KRGV.

Day 92: WGA's Strike; ION Touts Its Ratings for RHI and Drew Carey; 5 More RTN Affiliates

Today is day 92 of the strike. Rumors are swirling that this will be resolved very soon. An announcement could come as soon as this week! I bet nothing will come officially until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest (as right now the main stories are the high-rated Super Bowl and Super Tuesday primaries). If the strike does end this week, production on many shows could be back up and running by the end of the month or early March for sure and we could start getting new episodes of our favorite scripted shows by the end of March or early April! Good news indeed!
Don't forget to tune in to the new CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain premiereing tonight at 8:30pm, and then an hour later at 9:30pm it is the season premiere of Old Christine!

The RHI mini-series Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Ricky Schroder (NYPD Blue, Silver Spoons), Victoria Pratt (Day Break) and the legendary Peter Fonda, garnered significant ratings success with its Sunday, January 27 debut on ION Television. According to Nielsen Media Research data, the two-hour original television movie, a dynamic new adaptation of the classic tale by Jules Verne executive produced by Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., was seen in more than 1.1 million households and attracted over 1.6 million total viewers. The mini-series is the fifth original production from RHI Entertainment to air on ION, also generated the highest delivery among key demographics of RHI content on ION since its start. The Sunday night RHI Movie Weekend block has shown continued growth versus the fourth quarter, boosting households by 112 percent and more than doubling in every demographic category. RHI programming airs on ION Fri-Sun from 7-11pm.
Meanwhile, ION Television saw a ratings boost on Monday, January 28, as The Drew Carey Show delivered a 0.6 HH rating, doubling its four-week average of 0.3 HH since its launch on New Year's Day. In its 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. timeslot, the Emmy-nominated series captured 622,000 households (close to 1 million total viewers), and delivered a 73 percent increase in adults 25-54 and a 141 percent increase in women 25-54 in comparison to its average performance since its launch. After somewhat a slow start, hopefully it can keep this up as ION will add Baywatch right after it starting March 3.

Retro Television Network has announced that it will partner with White Knight Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Shreveport, Louisiana (KSHV-DT) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (KZUP-CA). The network will launch late this year in both markets. Also, under the terms of the agreement, RTN programming will also air an additional four to seven hours a day on Shreveport's My Network affiliate, KSHV.
In addition, they will launch an RTN affiliate in Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas. The network will begin airing in the second quarter of this year on KGPT, a Great Plains Television Network station.
Finally, they will launch RTN affiliates in two South Dakota markets, Sioux Falls and Rapid City. In Sioux Falls, the network will begin airing in March on KAUN, a station owned by J.F. Broadcasting that currently airs ION Television. In Rapid City, RTN programming will launch this summer on a digital stream of KOTA, the local ABC affiliate that is owned by Duhamel Broadcasting.

Day 87: WGA's Strike; More NATPE Notes; 2 More RTN Stations Added; TV Land Scores Big in January 2008

Today is day 87 of the strike. Various reports are saying the strike could end very soon because the informal negotiations are going well. Let's hope this is true and we get an official announcement soon. If the strike were to end in the next week or two, we could see many of our favorite scripted shows return for a month or two of new episodes this spring! But there are reports shows like Pushing Daisies and Law & Order: SVU would not be able to come back with new episodes until the fall. We'll keep you posted for sure.
In other news, NBC has renewed Celebrity Apprentice for another season. The second season of The Celebrity Apprentice will premiere in January of 2009. The first season wraps up Thursday, March 27 from 9-11pm.

As we did yesterday, we have some more NATPE notes for you.
- Program Partners and 44 Blue Productions have cleared Family Court With Judge Penny, a new syndicated courtroom show, in more than 70% of U.S. markets for this Fall. Clearances include WNYW/WWOR in New York, KTTV/KCOP in Los Angeles, WCIU/WWME in Chicago, WUPA in Atlanta, WBFF/WNUV in Baltimore and KTVT/KTXA in Dallas.
- It looks like The Montel Williams Show is ending after this season. However, CBS TV Distribution will offer 260 episodes of the best of Montel to stations for fall 2008. The show has aired for 17 seasons. Fox stations in the top two markets declined to renew the series for next season.
- NBC Universal's The Steve Wilkos Show was renewed for season two, with clearances in more than 85% of the country including top-market stations WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WGN Chicago and WPHL Philadelphia. Top Sinclair stations picking up the show for season two include WTTA Tampa, Fla.; WNUV Baltimore; WTTE Columbus, Ohio; and WLFL Raleigh, N.C., and Fox-owned stations extending their deal include WFTC Minneapolis and KUTP Phoenix.
- Litton Entertainment announced that Storm Stories, an unscripted series based on raw footage of extreme weather, has cleared 70% of U.S. stations. It will launch this fall. It comes from The Weather Channel and features customizable format options with features such as live local news and weather updates from station meteorologists. Major-market stations that have signed on include WABC in New York, KCAL/KCBS in Los Angeles, WGN in Chicago, KYW in Philadelphia, WJBK in Detroit, WSB in Atlanta, WTSP in Tampa, Fla., WJW in Cleveland, KPHO in Phoenix, KUSA in Denver, WESH in Orlando, Fla., KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., KSDK in St. Louis, WPXI in Pittsburgh and WJZ in Baltimore.
Litton has done big so far in NATPE, already selling Baywatch reruns to ION and has Cribs, and Pimp My Ride up for sale for this fall.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Media General to bring RTN programming to Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL and Columbus, GA. The new affiliates will launch in the second quarter of this year on a digital stream of WKRG, the CBS affiliate in Mobile/Pensacola, and WRBL, the CBS affiliate in Columbus.

TV Land scored its most-watched month ever across several key categories for January 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research (12/31/07-1/27/08). The successful launch of new acquisition Just Shoot Me!, the network's regularly scheduled "Friday Night Movies" which included a telecast of The Jerk and "The Beverly Hillbillies New Year's Eve Marathon" led the network to score double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54, core A40-54 audience and total viewers in total day.
In total day, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (382,000 viewers) among A25-54, up +33% in rating and +33% in delivery over a year ago. The network attracted an average of 782,000 total viewers, up +18% over January 2007. Among its core audience, A40-54, the network scored a 0.5 rating (279,000 viewers), representing a rise of +25% in rating and +29% in delivery over last year. In prime time, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (460,000 viewers), up+3% in delivery over last year, and among A40-54, the network averaged a 0.6 rating (336,000 viewers). Additionally, TV Land attracted an average of over 1 million total viewers.
For more on the best month ever in the ratings for TV Land, click HERE!

Come on back tomorrow for TV One March and details on Family Matters coming to Nick at Nite. Family Matters will launch on... (sorry you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that!)

Day 81: WGA's Strike; CBS Changes; RTN to Add 11 More Stations

It is day 81 of the strike. Nothing new to report, but informal discussions between the writers and producers took place yesterday. Hopefully something comes out of it. NBC Universal executives confirmed Wednesday that the network currently does not have plans to cancel a batch of pilot scripts as CBS, Fox and The CW have done to dozens of projects in the wake of the writers' strike. But they are scaling back on their batches of pilot scripts from now on as the networks continue to institute budgetary cutbacks in the wake of the writers' strike, reports B&C.

CBS has announced a few schedule changes. The Power of 10, the primetime game show hosted by Drew Carey, will be pulled from the CBS schedule effective immediately. The show was airing Wednesdays at 8:00pm but has been coming in fourth place in its timeslot ever since American Idol returned. CBS will fill the void with repeats of sitcoms until further notice. Back-to-back repeats of Old Christine will air next week (Jan. 30), while Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory repeats will fill the hour on Feb. 6. Power of 10 could return to the air again by summer. Meanwhile, The Price is Right, the daytime game show hosted by Drew Carey, returns to prime time with six new specials to be broadcast on Fridays, beginning Feb. 22 from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT, on CBS and will be head-to-head vs NBC's 1 vs. 100 gameshow. These will be the first primetime specials to be broadcast since Carey took hosting reins from former host Bob Barker. During The Price is Right six-week primetime run, Ghost Whisperer repeats will move to 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT. Moonlight will return to the schedule later this season.

Retro Television Network (RTN), which is nationally owned and distributed by Equity Media Holdings Corporation, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Quincy Newspapers, Inc. (QNI) to launch RTN programming on 11 stations. The new affiliates will air on the digital streams of KWWL (Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Iowa City/Dubuque, IA), WKOW (Madison, WI), WSJV (South Bend/Elkhart, IN), WVVA (Bluefield/Beckley/Oak Hill, WV), KXLT (Rochester, MN/Mason City, IA/Austin, MN), KTIV (Sioux City, IA), WREX (Rockford, IL), WXOW/WQOW (La Crosse/Eau Claire, WI) and WAOW/WYOW (Wausau/Rhinelander, WI).
As you all know by now, RTN is the first completely-customizable, national television network to provide a 24/7 digital feed of hit shows to each of its affiliates. The network's unique design allows each affiliate to remain in complete control while RTN runs the local and national master control from its central hub. RTN also offers customizable news and weather for each market, hosted by network-provided talent.

Day 67: WGA's Strike; RTN Coming to Orlando; Details on George Lopez Marathon

It is day 67 of the strike. Nothing really new to report, but don't forget tonight we have Kimmel on Leno and Leno on Kimmel in late night on NBC and ABC. Very historic night. Also, don't forget to tune in tonight in primetime for the pre-strike final episodes of Grey's Anatomy, My Name is Earl, and 30 Rock. Ugly Betty, CSI, Without a Trace, Big Shots, and ER are also new.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that COX Television plans to add a sixth RTN affiliate on its Orlando station. The network will launch in the first quarter of this year on WRDQ-DT in Orlando, the nation's 19th largest television market.
No mention of what shows will air, but it will be on the same selection as other RTN stations! RTN keeps growing! Congrats to them and to our buddies Mark and Neal!

Remember about ten days or so ago we gave you Nick at Nite's January highlights and among the highlights was a George Lopez marathon on Jan. 20? Well, we have learned the marathon will be called "The Legend of Lopez" and it will be hosted by George Lopez! Not only will he host, but he will answer your questions! Head on to the official website by clicking HERE to submit questions for George and your question might make it on-air. The 14 episode marathon starts at 9pm on that night!

Coming in the next few days or so ION Television February highlights, TV Land March highlights and full details on that '80s weekend in February on TV Land!

Day 64: WGA's Strike; The CW Strike Schedule; RTN Comes to Birmingham

It is day 64 of the strike. We have a couple of scheduling news that are being taken place because of this strike. First up, Dexter, the critically acclaimed drama series about a serial killer, which recently completed its second season on premium cable network SHOWTIME, makes an unprecedented appearance on network television when it premieres Sunday, Feb. 17 at 10:00PM, ET/PT CBS.
Dexter's move to CBS marks the first time a full season of a premium cable drama series will make the transition to network television. Dexter's 12-episode first season will be edited for network television and will be broadcast on 12 consecutive Sundays.

The CW Network announced its new midseason schedule (AKA strike schedule), featuring the return of several reality hits and giving current shows exposure on new nights and in new time periods. Among the changes include moving the Monday night sitcom block to Sunday nights. New seasons of America's Next Top Model, Beauty & the Geek, and Pussycat Dolls Present. Here is their revised line-up:

Monday
8:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (Beginning January 28)
9:00 p.m. Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (Beginning February 18)

Tuesday
8:00 p.m. Reaper (Beginning January 15)
8:00 p.m. Beauty and the Geek (Beginning March 11)
9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill

Wednesday (Beginning February 20)
8:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model
9:00 p.m. Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious Encore

Thursday
8:00 p.m. Smallville
9:00 p.m. Reaper (Beginning February 28)

Sunday (Beginning February 10)
7:00 p.m. CW Now
7:30 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris Encores
8:00 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 p.m. Aliens in America
9:00 p.m. Girlfriends
9:30 p.m. The Game

Retro Television Network announced today that it will partner with Media General to launch RTN programming in Birmingham, AL on a digital stream of WVTM NBC 13. The new affiliate, which is the 6th Media General station to sign with RTN, will launch in the first quarter of this year.
RTN's 'Primetime All The Time' line-up is going to be on the air soon in the Birmingham market with continuous hits throughout the day, including Love, American Style, Get Smart and Happy Days. Viewers in Birmingham can also watch iconic stars Michael Douglas in Streets of San Francisco, Telly Savalas in Kojak, Jack Lord in Hawaii 5-0 and Raymond Burr in both Perry Mason and Ironside.

Day 54: WGA's Strike; Honeymooners 2008 New Year's Marathon on WPIX; RTN Comes to Providence, RI

Well today is day 54 of the strike. 54...wow...but this is not fun like Studio 54. Unfortunately there is no end in sight right now for this strike. Fox's late night talk show on Saturdays, Talk Show with Spike Feresten, will now also return on the air with new episodes without writers starting Saturday, Jan. 12. I know what you're all thinking...Fox has a late night talk show on Saturdays? Still no word yet if Letterman or Ferguson will return on the air next week. I doubt the independent deal to get writers for those shows will be done in time and they will be on the air next week I bet without writers. Leno, O'Brien and Kimmel return on-air this Wednesday without writers.


2008 starts next week and we all know what WPIX (CW11, formerly known as WB11) in New York will do to celebrate it! Yes, the annual Honeymooners New Year's Marathon!
Ring in the New Year with Ralphie Boy! A holiday tradition, the CW11/WPIX will air a marathon of 30 classic Honeymooners episodes (mix of the classic 39 and lost episodes!) beginning Monday, December 31 at midnight...just as we enter 2008. The CW11/WPIX will air 15-hours of hamana-hamana-hamana hijinks with Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), Ed Norton (Art Carney), Alice Kramden (Audrey Meadows) and Trixie Norton (Joyce Randolph). The WPIX Honeymooners Marathon runs from midnight to 5am on New Year's Eve night (with a break for the CW11 Morning News from 5-9am) and returns at 9am on New Year's Day all the way until 7pm! For the complete schedule of episodes and to discuss this news, click HERE!
CW11/WPIX-TV is your home for The Honeymooners, with the marathon tradition beginning in 1976, and airing on New Year's Eve annually since 1996.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it will partner with Media General to bring RTN programming to Providence, RI. The new affiliate, which is the 5th Media General station to sign with RTN, will launch early next year on a digital stream of WJAR, the NBC affiliate in Providence.
Among the shows they will see are Ron Howard and Henry Winkler in Happy Days, James Garner in Rockford Files, Peter Graves in Mission: Impossible, Jack Lord in Hawaii 5-0, Clint Eastwood in Rawhide, David Janssen in The Fugitive, Lorne Greene and Michael Landon in Gunsmoke and Raymond Burr in Perry Mason and Ironside.

Christmas Eve Greeting; RTN Comes to Augusta, GA and Jackson, MS

Thanks for taking the time out on this Christmas Eve 2007 to come join us for some sitcom news. We will continue to bring you news every single day during the holiday and through the New Year, so if you can, please join us. Then you can get back to your families the rest of the day! Don't forget to leave out the milk and cookies for Santa tonight!

Retro Television Network (RTN) recently announced that it has entered into agreements with Media General to bring RTN programming to Augusta, GA and Jackson, MS. The new affiliates will launch early next year on a digital stream of WJBF, the ABC affiliate in Augusta, and WJTV, the CBS affiliate in Jackson.
Viewers in Jackson and Augusta, as part of RTN's 'Primetime All the Time' lineup, will enjoy watching James Garner in The Rockford Files, Bob Crane in Hogan's Heroes, Raymond Burr in Ironside, Robert Young in Marcus Welby, M.D. and Michael Douglas in Streets of San Francisco, as well as many more hit shows!
Media General currently airs RTN on its NBC affiliate in Savannah, GA (WSAV) and its CBS affiliate in Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC (WBTW).

Have a Merry Christmas and don't forget to join us tomorrow, if you can.

Day 45: WGA's Strike; ION Drew Carey Show Contest; RTN's 40th Affiliate: Phoenix

Today is day 45 of the writers' strike. The Los Angeles City Council's Housing, Community, and Economic Development Committee will conduct a hearing on the economic impact of the Writers Guild of America strike on the local and regional economy. Issues discussed will include the history of bargaining and the issues at stake in this strike. It was slated today Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 7:30 AM PT.
Rejected for a Writers Guild of America waiver, the Golden Globes now are scheduled to be picketed by the WGA, assuming the guild is still on strike by the time of the telecast on Jan. 13. Dick Clark Productions, producer of the Globes telecast, fears many actors won't cross the picket line to attend the event. The Oscars could also be impacted on Feb. 24, if the strike lasts that long.
In schedule news, NBC will move the premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice from Jan. 3 to Jan. 10, so it doesn't have to go head-to-head vs. ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Like that will work...The Donald is so over already. Meanwhile, NBC will give viewers an expanded season finale of new live competition show Clash of the Choirs from one-hour to two hours on Thursday, December 20 from 8-10 p.m. ET.

ION Television today announced that it is celebrating the launch of The Drew Carey Show on ION Television with a "Bring in the Drew Year With a Smile" promotion, sponsored by Crest Whitestrips. The contest will be promoted beginning New Year's Eve, and will officially begin on January 1, 2008. Viewers will get to vote for their favorite smiles from members of The Drew Carey Show cast, and enter for a chance to win a trip for four anywhere in the US that will "make you smile."
To enter the contest, viewers will need to watch The Drew Carey Show on ION Television during the first few weeks of 2008, and vote for their favorite smile from Drew, Mimi or Lewis on ION's Web site (www.ionline.tv). The grand prize package includes roundtrip airfare, deluxe hotel accommodations and spending money.
The contest will be heavily promoted during a special "Drew Year's Eve" marathon of back-to-back shows, which will launch The Drew Carey Show from 7-11 pm (ET) on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, the series will join ION Television’s primetime lineup, with episodes airing Mondays through Thursdays at 9 and 9:30 pm (ET).

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with Londen Media Group to bring RTN programming to Phoenix, the nation's 12th largest television market. The new affiliate will launch next year on KAZT-DT, bringing the network's total number of affiliates to 40. Phoenix viewers will enjoy RTN's 'Primetime All The Time' lineup of hit shows, including Get Smart, Hogan's Heroes, Hawaii 5-0, A-Team, Mission: Impossible and the original Knight Rider!

Day 40: WGA's Strike; ABC's Strike Schedule; NCIS Reruns to USA Network; Nick at Nite Holiday Changes; RTN Coming to the Tri-Cities Area in Tennessee

We are now on the big 4-0 of the strike...that's day 40. We have some bad news. The WGA has filed a complaint against the AMPTP. It is getting ugly and I don't think we will get this straighten out anytime soon. Hopefully a Christmas miracle can happen. Anyway, here is more on the complaint. The WGA says: Today the WGA filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the AMPTP for its refusal to bargain in good faith with the WGA. It is a clear violation of federal law for the AMPTP to issue an ultimatum and break off negotiations if we fail to cave to their illegal demands.
We are in the midst of the holiday season, with thousands of our members and the membership of other unions out of work. It is the height of irresponsibility and intransigence for the AMPTP to refuse to negotiate a fair agreement with the WGA. We reiterate our demand that the AMPTP immediately return to the negotiations, rather than going on vacation, so that this town can be put back to work.
The DGA announced today that it may commence negotiations with the AMPTP in January. The DGA has to do what is best for its membership, and we will do what is best for ours. We wish them well, but they do not represent writers. Our strike will end when the companies return to negotiations and make a fair deal with the WGA.
The AMPTP responded to the WGA complaint by saying: The WGA's filing of a complaint with the NLRB reminds us of the old lawyers' adage: When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the law is on your side, argue the law. And when you don't have either the law or the facts on your side, you pound the table. The WGA has now been reduced to pounding the table, and this baseless, desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA's negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers.
It is getting very ugly. Not good.

ABC's strike schedule (AKA January schedule, AKA mid-season schedule) is out! ABC will premiere four new series between Jan-Mar, Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give, in addition to the premiere of the much anticipated fourth season of Lost on Thursday, January 31 at 9:00 p.m. Just for Laughs, According to Jim and Carpoolers return to Tuesday in January. Wife Swap and Supernanny return, this time on Wednesdays. The megahit Dancing with the Stars returns March 17 on Mondays and Tuesdays. Off the line-up because of the strike are Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty Sexy Money. Cavemen is not returning. Men in Trees will take a break and not come back until Feb. 27, and move to Wednesdays at 10 when Cashmere Mafia's run completes. For a full list of the schedule, look below:
MONDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
9:30 p.m. Notes from the Underbelly
10:00 p.m. October Road
MONDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
9:00 p.m. Samantha Who?
9:30 p.m. Notes from the Underbelly
10:00 p.m. October Road
MONDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
9:30 p.m. Samantha Who?
10:00 p.m. The Bachelor

TUESDAY
8:00 p.m. Just for Laughs
8:30 p.m. Just for Laughs
9:00 p.m. According to Jim
9:30 p.m. Carpoolers
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal
TUESDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. Just for Laughs
8:30 p.m. Just for Laughs
9:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars the Results Show
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal

WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m. Wife Swap
9:00 p.m. Supernanny
10:00 p.m. Cashmere Mafia - MEN IN TREES beginning Feb 27

THURSDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Big Shots (after special premiere of Cashmere Mafia on Jan 3)
THURSDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Lost
10:00 p.m. Eli Stone

FRIDAY
8:00 p.m. Drama encores
9:00 p.m. Drama encores
10:00 p.m. 20/20

SUNDAY (MAR)
7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Oprah's Big Give
10:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
For MUCH more info click HERE!!

USA Network has announced it will start airing reruns of the CBS drama NCIS starting in January. It was announced a few years ago that USA Network had bought the off-network rights of the show starting in 2008. USA will air it Wednesday nights at 9:00pm and 10:00pm starting Jan. 2. It won't air as a daily strip for awhile, since it is just starting. Maybe in the fall at earliest. NCIS is replacing Law & Order: SVU on Wednesday nights. SVU will still air in its other slots.
From Donald P. Bellisario, an acclaimed producer, comes NCIS, a hit spin-off of JAG (which airs on USA Network 6-8am weekday mornings), that brings us the inner workings of the government agency that investigates all crimes involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Starring: Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette.

In other news, Nick at Nite has edited their Christmas marathon for this Sunday a bit. They removed the holiday episodes of Roseanne and Cosby Show. They will air holiday episodes from 9pm-12am of their usual line-up of Home Improvement, George Lopez, and Fresh Prince instead. In addition, the holiday hour of 11pm next week will now be back to just Fresh Prince...so again Roseanne and Cosby Show get snubbed. For more details, click on our December highlights by clicking HERE.

RTN has announced a new affiliate...our friend Greg Brobeck (aka snowpeck) is very happy, because this is his market. Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation to launch RTN programming on a digital stream of WKPT-TV, Tri-Cities' ABC affiliate. The new affiliate will begin airing RTN programming on December 21 on WKPT-DT, Tennessee's first digital television station, and will also be available over-the-air on WOPI-CA, Channel 9.
Greg found out that we can look for Matlock, Hawaii 5-0, Magnum, P.I. in primetime with the following in daytime and late night: Perry Mason, Ironside, Rockford Files, Get Smart, Kojak, The Untouchables, Mission Impossible, The Fugitive, Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Happy Days, Love American Style. And on weekends: Bonanza, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wild Wild West, Emergency, Knight Rider, A-Team, Afred Hitchcock.

Day 33: WGA's Strike; Wayans Bros. to Develop VH1 Sitcom Starring Family Matters Star; RTN Comes to Charlotte

Today is day 33 of the strike. This week has been very quiet in terms of the outcomes. Last Friday a deal was proposed and the WGA quickly rejected it. The latest details were issued on Wednesday by the WGA. Click HERE to view their statement. We'll keep you updated. Also if any other networks plan to change the schedules. ABC has yet to announce anything really for January, while NBC, Fox, and CBS have.
The WGA have announced that nominations for outstanding achievement in television and radio writing during the 2007 season for the upcoming 2008 Writers Guild Awards will be released on Thursday, December 13. The 2008 Writers Guild Awards are slated to be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008, simultaneously at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Broadway Millennium Hotel in New York City.

VH1 has given the green light to a new pilot from Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn Wayans for their new comedy, The Life and Times of Marcus 'Felony' Brown. The premise surrounds burgeoning, hard core, East Coast rapper Brown (Darius McCrary, Eddie Winslow from Family Matters) who blows up after his debut album goes platinum and heads to Los Angeles to record the follow up. Along for the ride are his self-hyping hype man, E-Z (Vince Green); jet-setting manager, Cash (Jon Abrahams); and hard-partying bodyguard, Tiny (Marcello Thedford). Affion Crockett plays Seville, Marcus' personal barber, while Toni Trucks is Tia, Marcus' assistant.
Marlon and Shawn Wayans developed the pilot with producing partner Rick Alvarez. The three will serve as executive producers along with Keenen Ivory Wayans. The pilot just wrapped principal photography.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will be adding a second Capitol Broadcasting Company station as an RTN affiliate. RTN will launch on a digital stream of WMYT (My-12) in Charlotte, NC, the nation's 25th largest television market, in 2008. The 'Primetime All The Time' line-up, including Perry Mason, Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and Mission: Impossible, will hit the airwaves of Charlotte shortly.

Come on back tomorrow for an exclusive. We have gotten special rights to publish some great classic TV essays that will be coming out in 2009 on a nice book by author Lou Orfanella!

Day 17: WGA's Strike; RTN Coming to Seattle; TV Land's 50 Greatest Icons Scores; Thanksgiving Marathons

It is now day 17 of the writers' strike. Nothing really new to report. Come back tomorrow for some network schedule notes.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with COX Television to bring RTN programming to Seattle, the nation's 14th largest television market. The new affiliate will launch in January on a digital stream of KIRO-TV, Seattle's CBS affiliate. Viewers will love seeing Don Adams and Barbara Feldon in Get Smart, prior to next summer's hit movie starring Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and will enjoy escaping to Waikiki Beach each evening as they watch Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum P.I. In addition, the weekends are a cavalcade of hit shows, including It Takes a Thief, Gunsmoke, A-Team, Knight Rider, Emergency, Wild, Wild West and many more. Mission: Impossible and Happy Days are also slated to come.

The 50 Greatest TV Icons was a huge hit for TV Land with viewers for its premiere on Friday, November 16, scoring double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54 audience and triple-digit ratings and delivery gains among its core audience A40-54. The two-hour special an editorial/on-air collaboration with Entertainment Weekly presented 50 timeless performers from the history of television like Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball and Jerry Seinfeld who have all made their indelible mark in TV history.
According to Nielsen Media Research, The 50 Greatest TV Icons posted a 0.5 rating (500,000 viewers) among A25-54, up +67% in rating and +67% in delivery over last year. Among its core audience, Adults 40-54, TV Land scored triple-digit gains in rating and delivery, averaging a 0.8 rating (432,000 viewers), up +100% in rating and +100% in delivery. The special scored triple digit gains among total viewers over last year, averaging nearly 1.1 million total viewers, a rise of +112% over from a year ago.

Finally, we leave you today with some Thanksgiving marathons for tomorrow and this weekend. Before and after you eat with your family tomorrow, you could spend some time watching some marathons together! We gave you details on TV Land's Overstuffed Thanksgiving marathon which has I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, among others. If you're in L.A. don't forget KTLA's 60th Anniversary celebration this weekend. ION will have its Thanksgiving marathon tonight with Mama's Family from 7p-11p!
TBS will share marathons of Saved by the Bell from 7a-10a, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 10a-4p and House of Payne from 4p-9p. On Fresh Prince, a holiday visit from Will's taskmaster mother puts the kibosh on conspicuous consumption and puts the kids to work preparing Thanksgiving dinner.
TNT goes Charmed this Thanksgiving with a marathon of the hit drama from 8am-6pm.
FX will give us movies on Thanksgiving, but the day after we get a marathon of Malcolm in the Middle! A 22-episode marathon begins with a 2000 episode in which Malcolm's cushy babysitting job provides relief from the trailer his family's using while their house is being fumigated. Meanwhile, the school's master key leads Francis to a corpse, for which he provides a proper send-off. Airs 7am-5:30pm.
Nickelodeon will have days worth of marathons, including some classics! I urge you to click HERE for the schedule.
GSN will give us two marathons. A Family Feud marathon on Turkey Day from 9am-7pm and a Viewer's Choice Marathon on Friday. The latter sounds VERY good and you all should click HERE to see what I mean!!
WGN will go with laughs on the day after Thanksgiving with America's Funniest Home Videos from 9am-8pm.
USA Network will have a marathon battle between Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU each airing after one another starting 6am Thursday and ending 9pm Friday!
Comedy Central will give us Drawn Together in the late night after our feast from 11pm-3am. Eight episodes of the animated comedy are featured.
G4 will showcase Jamie Kennedy Experiment from 9am-8pm. And on Friday Ninja Warrior from 10am-8pm.
Sci-Fi Channel will bring us episodes from the reality series Ghost Hunters investigating accounts of strange phenomena are featured. First up at 8am "Whispers and Voices" has the team probing two Massachusetts locales. Star Trek: Enterprise airs the day after.
Discovery Channel will have a Dirty Jobs marathon on Turkey Day from 9am-9pm.
Bravo will give a block of the delicious reality show Top Chef that features 10 Season 3 episodes from 8a-6p. It's a dessert storm in the first hour when the chefs are challenged to create a sublime pie crust, after which they must cook up tasty fare for personalities of the Telemundo television network.
TLC gives us two shows. Little People, Big World on Thursday from 9a-3a and What Not to Wear from 9p-3a on Friday.
News channel CNN will give us CNN: SIU episodes from 1p-6a with a break at 5p for a special on Larry King's 50 Years.
Cartoon Network will give us Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends all-day starting at 7am through 7pm, then we will have an all-new special Tom & Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale.
A&E will give us marathons of Cold Case Files and First 48 on Thanksgiving and a CSI: Miami marathon the day after from 8am-4am.
BET gives us a 10-episode block of the reality series following singer Keyshia Cole from 9a-2p on Turkey Day and Baldwin Hills on Friday from 1p-6p.
Regional sports network YES will have a Yankeeography marathon from 12pm-12am featuring profiles on stars such as Catfish Hunter, Tino Martinez, Billy Martin, and Reggie Jackson.
I think that covers the majority of them.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and don't forget to check back with us each day this Thanksgiving weekend for some news. We don't take any days off!

Day 16: WGA's Writers' Strike; RTN Adds Atlanta Station, RTN Honors Dick Wilson; Remembering Sigrid Valdis

It is now day 16 of the writers' strike. We are getting anxious to Monday when they go back to the negotiations table. With episodes running out of the current scripted shows, fans are sad and upset. But remember we have two current shows returning for second seasons this week. October Road returns this Thursday after Grey's Anatomy for a special preview timeslot before airing Mondays at 10 starting next Monday. Now since scripted programming will be a bit scarce and if you have never watched the show, then SOAPnet will give us a marathon of all six episodes plus this season's season premiere on Saturday from 12-7pm. Try to watch...it is good entertainment. Also, as we mentioned before, ABC will return Notes from the Underbelly also next Monday at 9:30pm. So we do have some scripted programming life! Even so, let's hope the strike can end next week.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with COX Television to bring RTN programming to Atlanta, the nation's 8th largest television market. The new affiliate will launch on a digital stream of WSB-TV in January. WSB-TV is COX Television's flagship station that serves as the ABC affiliate in Atlanta. The station, which is the oldest television station in Georgia, began broadcasting in 1948 and is one of the premier ABC affiliates in the nation.
Viewers in Atlanta will soon enjoy RTN's 'Primetime All The Time' line-up, including Matlock, Hawaii 5-0, Magnum P.I., Mission: Impossible, Love American Style, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Love, American Style.
Yesterday we gave you the sad news that Dick Wilson had passed away. Today, RTN honored the passing of "Mr. Whipple" in a retromercial. We have gotten the clip from RTN and will share it with you. So here is a taste of RTN, if you don't have a RTN station yet. Click HERE to see RTN's retromercial of Dick "Mr. Whipple" Wilson.

Sigrid Valdis, who played Col. Klink's sexy blond secretary on Hogan's Heroes and married the show's star, Bob Crane, has died. Valdis died of lung cancer Oct. 14 at her daughter Ana Sarmiento's home in Anaheim, but was just recently announced. Valdis played Hilda for five seasons on Hogan's Heroes, the 1965-71 CBS situation comedy about Allied prisoners in a World War II German POW camp. She and Crane were married on the TV show's set in 1970. Crane was found bludgeoned to death in a Scottsdale, Ariz., apartment in 1978. You can catch Hogan's Heroes on TV Land starting next June. She didn't have many other credits, but she did guest star on Wild Wild West and Kraft Suspense Theatre. Ms. Valdis will be missed by her fans. She was 72.

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with Retro Television Network and a RTN T-Shirt Contest; TV Land's The 50 Greatest TV Icons

It is now day 10 of the writers' strike. Nothing really new to report as of now, so I won't talk much about it today because we have a very exciting interview for you today. As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form! In addition to today's interview, stay tuned in the coming days, as we might have a "Seven Questions" interview with Willie Aames (Buddy from Charles in Charge), just in time for the Charles in Charge second season DVD out next week. Look for our review of that set later this week and don't forget to enter our contest by clicking HERE. And now to today's interview...

We have had the pleasure to interview Neal Ardman and Mark Dvornik of Retro Television Network (RTN)! RTN is a new television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed with classic hit shows, in addition to local programming including news, weather and sports. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel and provides local broadcasters with a way to get ratings and successfully monetize their digital spectrum.

Mark Dvornik has been very good and helpful to us, so we thank him in making this happen. Neal Ardman and Mark Dvornik sat down with me with their TV Dinners watching RTN (Retro Television Network) in another installment of SitcomsOnline's Seven Questions Series.

"Seven Questions with Retro Television Network's Neal Ardman and Mark Dvornik"

SitcomsOnline: Hi Neal and Mark, this is Pavan from SitcomsOnline.com. Thanks for this opportunity. We are loving what Retro Television Network (RTN) is doing. We know what the network is and have promoted the news and details to our readers, but maybe you can explain how you guys work a bit better. So, what is RTN and how can we get it? How did it start?
RTN: Mark turns to Neal and says, "Tell the folks that story of how RTN came to be." Neal says, Well Mark, I was out hunting near my cabin when I missed fired a shot, it hit the ground, and all of a sudden a crude format of a network came out of the ground! (They both laugh at the TV reference to an opening of a classic hit show.) That was 2005, and the first RTN was born on KKYK-TV in Little Rock, AR. Mark adds, Call your favorite local television station, ask for the program director, and tell them you would like for them to put RTN on their digital channel.

SitcomsOnline: So RTN has gone national, right? We read it was going to in July, but we didn't start to see any news until late August. We got lots of e-mails asking when RTN was going national and if their cities would get it.
RTN: Mark says, RTN is the first customized local network, and we are signing on markets one city at a time. Neal adds, RTN is one of the most cutting edge broadcaster out there. We are broadcasting now in MPEG4!

SitcomsOnline: What is the coverage goal for the network? I don't think there were any announcements for RTN stations in the top markets, like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Are we close to having RTN's in those markets? WPIX-DT would be good in NY I think, since the Tube Music Network is now gone. That would be a major step!
RTN: Mark says, The coverage goal is National. We will not comment on any discussions going on in any markets. However, as I stated earlier that if you would like to see RTN on your market, you should contact your local station and request that they pick up RTN on their local digital channel.

SitcomsOnline: Right now we see classics from the CBS/Paramount and Universal libraries. Can we expect shows from other studios soon? And for the CBS/Paramount and Universal libraries, are you able to choose any TV show or is there some sort of system? Personally, I've been missing shows like Webster, Dear John (both Paramount), and Out of this World (Universal) and would love to see those on RTNs. But I still like the shows you already air like Happy Days, Family Ties and The A-Team!
RTN: Neal says, We love all the shows that you listed, too. As they say, stay tuned...

SitcomsOnline: So does the local affiliate get full rights to choose what shows they want to air, or does RTN help as well?
RTN: Neal is chuckling as he says, We can not answer any questions of a legal nature, without consulting our attorney Perry Mason. We will have to get back to you...

SitcomsOnline: Where can fans call or e-mail the network? Does RTN have a website that is live? I know there used to be one, but that doesn't seem to be working right now.
RTN: Mark says, The fans of RTN in each local market should let the local station know via e-mail how much they like that they have RTN on the air. Neal adds, Our new wonderful website is under construction. We did a focus group and found that our Etch-A-Sketch was not refreshing the page quick enough!

SitcomsOnline: So, we heard that your network has a mascot?
RTN: Neal says, His name is Beau, and he is a chocolate lab. He can be seen in promos with SIT, STAY, WATCH, which we also have on t-shirts. Mark adds, Pavan has secured some t-shirts for a lucky few. He will unveil how you can win one later in this interview. Neal concludes with, Beau is everything you want in a network mascot. First he is loyal to RTN. He only wags his tail at our shows. He brings us the morning trades so we can stay up on the goings on. And he has not accidents like the other network mascots.

SitcomsOnline: Well, thanks once again for taking some time out for us in your busy schedules! And much success to RTN!
RTN: Mark says, We are honored that you asked for us to speak to your readers, we love television and bringing these great shows to you. Thanks for watching us, and contact your local station if we are not on in your market yet. RTN is adding markets each week, and Pavan is doing an excellent job keeping you all informed on the progress.

Our thanks to to Neal and Mark of RTN, and best wishes to them in making RTN a big success! Some great humor even in their responses! Our apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time. For more information on Retro Television Network, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to log-on to their website when it goes up at http://www.retrotelevision.net. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for news updates for this wonderful network! We seem to be getting new affiliates each week! Fast growing indeed!

And as Mark mentioned in the interview we have a contest for you RTN fans! We have 10 RTN T-shirts to give away with Beau the mascot. The contest starts today (Nov. 14) and ends Dec. 13...so hopefully you'll get your RTN T-Shirt in time for Christmas! That is our gift to you! Before you enter, please make sure you read the rules and regulations. So, without further adieu click HERE to enter our RTN T-Shirt Contest!

Legendary Johnny Carson -- the "King of Late Night TV" -- is ranked the number one TV icon in Entertainment Weekly and TV Land Present: The 50 Greatest TV Icons, premiering on Friday, November 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The two-hour TV Land special looks at individuals like Carson in addition to the great Lucille Ball and the hilarious Jerry Seinfeld, who have all made their indelible mark in TV history. The complete list will be revealed in the TV Land Original special and in Entertainment Weekly's annual DVD issue on stands that day. The magazine feature celebrates each icon's contribution to television along with DVD recommendations from each of the icons' work. The TV special is produced by Gay Rosenthal Productions.
For more info on this two-hour special and the complete top 50 list, click HERE (if you want to be spoiled).
The list they made is actually a top 100 list, but the TV special will only cover the top 50. 100-51 is listed on the TV Land website, if you want to take a look at that.

Day 8: WGA's Writers' Strike; Amen Returns to ION; Yet 2 More RTN Affiliates

We are now on the eighth day of the writers' strike. I guess weekends count. The Office only has one episode left before it will go on hiatus. You will see that episode this Thursday, so after that we will not see any more new ones until the strike is resolved. This will be the first primetime series to run out of episodes. TV Guide has a partial list of shows telling us how many episodes are left. We have roughly between one to 13 episodes left. Everybody Hates Chris will be the only scripted show to have a full 22 episode season, as their episodes were already produced before the strike happened. Lucky for fans of that show! Anyway, here is the list that will be updated daily. Bookmark it! I can tell you a few that I know: Cavemen has 12 episodes produced so like 6 are left, new mid-season ABC shows Cashmere Mafia will have 7 of the 13 episodes produced, and Eli Stone will have all 13 episodes produced. I'll try to keep you up to date of anything else I hear...still nothing on the Fox animated comedies.
The CW announced a new reality show today. The CW Network's outrageous new one-hour mother/daughter competition, Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, premieres Wednesday, December 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET), following the season finale of the hit series America's Next Top Model. The remaining seven episodes of the beauty pageant/reality show will then take over the 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET slot beginning Wednesday, December 19, followed by new drama Gossip Girl, and continuing through the season finale on January 30. Encores of Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants will air on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET.
An encore of the penultimate episode of America's Next Top Model will air at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 11. The Beauty and the Geek finale will air at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 4.

ION Television will bring back Amen for a third time! The show will return Monday, November 19 airing weeknights at 6:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. ET/PT, which means Doc will be gone! We will have more on ION this week, including their December schedule. Come on back. In the words of Amen...Shine on me!

We got 2 more RTN affiliates since our last blog post! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it plans to bring RTN programming to Tyler, TX. The new affiliate will launch early next year on a digital stream of KYTX-TV, the CBS affiliate that serves the Tyler / Longview market. Love, American Style and the show that was launched from it, Happy Days, will entertain RTN viewers in Tyler. In addition, audiences will love seeing Robert Conrad as Cannon, Michael Douglas in The Streets of San Francisco and Robert Stack in The Untouchables, to name a few.
And they announced today that it will partner with Raycom Media to bring RTN programming to Montgomery, AL. The network will launch December 3 on a digital stream of WSFA-TV, Raycom's NBC affiliate that serves the Montgomery-Selma area.
Montgomery, AL and Tyler, TX just got better!

Day 5: WGA's Writer's Strike; Kotter Podcast; More RTN Affiliates Announced

It is now day 5 of the writers' strike. If this goes as long as 1988, I'll be saying welcome to day 150 of the writers' strike. I hope it doesn't last that long. 1988 was from March 7 to August 7, so it was mostly during the hiatus season for production. So, if this strike lasts long, it will be much worse than 1988. We don't want to make TV history this way. Hope the writers enjoy the donuts from Leno, tacos from Kimmel, and pizza from Longoria.
B&C is reporting that NBC informed the nonwriting staff of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that it will be laid off at the end of next week in the wake of the show shutting down for the writers' strike. And with Leno still refusing to cross the picket line, the show is looking at coming back on the air Nov. 19 with guest hosts so that it can save the jobs of the nonwriters. In fact NBC is being very low to the head writer of The Tonight Show, by even turning off his NBC e-mail account. Will any of the late night hosts cross the picket line to save the jobs of the nonwriters? We shall see.
NBC, CBS and ABC could announce primetime strike schedules for January and beyond soon.

Our good friend Eric from JustMyShow.com is back with an all-new podcast episode! This time with episode 16. The guests are Bob Hegyes, who played Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter and John Sebastian, who wrote and performed the Welcome Back, Kotter theme. Did you know, that he's also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with The Lovin' Spoonful? This episode was suggested by Epstein's mother! Catch up with show sixteen by clicking HERE! Welcome back!

Hello Santa Barbara, CA; Roanoke, VA; and Harrisburg-Lancaster- Lebanon-York, PA you three markets are the next contestants on the expansion of the Retro Television Network! RTN is a new television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed with classic hit shows, in addition to local programming including news, weather and sports. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel and provides local broadcasters with a way to get ratings and successfully monetize their digital spectrum.
They will partner with Smith Broadcasting to add an RTN affiliate in Santa Barbara, CA. The network will launched October 30 on a digital stream of KEYT, the ABC affiliate that serves the Santa Barbara / Santa Maria / San Luis Obispo market. Viewers in Santa Barbara are treated to one the greatest comedic actors of our time with Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy, and many other favorites from RTN's 'Prime Time all the Time' lineup, including Perry Mason, Matlock and Michael Landon in Little House on the Prairie.
They have also partnered with Albritton Communications to bring RTN programming to Roanoke, VA. The network will launch in April 2008 on a digital stream of WSET-TV, Albritton's ABC affiliate that serves the Roanoke/Lynchburg area. They will see Raymond Burr as a wheelchair-bound detective in the critically-acclaimed Ironside and viewers can escape to Hawaii each weeknight while watching Jack Lord in Hawaii 5-0 and Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I.
Finally, they announced today that it will partner with Albritton Communications to bring RTN programming to the Harrisburg-Lancaster- Lebanon-York, PA market. The network will launch in April 2008 on a digital stream of WHTM-TV, Albritton's ABC affiliate that serves Harrisburg and the entire Susquehanna Valley. Local viewers are going to be treated to Raymond Burr in his two hit shows, Perry Mason and Ironside and viewers will laugh along with the antics of Jim Nabors in Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. and Don Adams in Get Smart.
Yes, I know, I promised an interview with RTN...and trust me it is coming. It is just that they have been very busy. My questions were submitted long ago though, so the responses should be coming any day. Thanks for your patience!

Superstation WGN's Munsters Halloween Marathon; RTN in Lafayette, LA

Happy Halloween! Sorry for the late notice but you'll be howling with laughter as Superstation WGN presents "The Munsters Halloween Day Marathon," 12 classic back-to-back episodes featuring television's first family of fright, The Munsters. The six-hour marathon with the odd occupants of 1313 Mockingbird Lane will air today (Wednesday, October 31) from 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT) until 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT).
To see the episodes for this stunt, click HERE!

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it plans to launch an RTN affiliate in Lafayette, LA. The new affiliate will launch Nov. 1 on KDCG and will air in Lafayette on COX Communications cable channel 9.
Among the shows the network plans to schedule are Magnum P.I., Hawaii 5-0, Matlock, Mission: Impossible, and Lafayette viewers will laugh along with Michael J. Fox, as Alex Keaton, in Family Ties and Ron Howard, as Richie Cunningham, in the timeless hit Happy Days.
Our interview with RTN is coming. They are a bit busy but they will make some time for us, so keep checking back. You won't want to miss this, as I ask some very interesting questions that fans will want to read for sure!

Tonight sitcom wise we have two repeats of Back to You and 'Til Death on Fox starting at 8/7 central. Catch up if you missed the premieres of these two earlier this season.

TVLand.com Redesigns Website, Adds Full Episodes; Another RTN Affiliate; Historic Brady Bunch Star Event

In its continued effort to superserve the entertainment needs of people in their 40s and 50s, TV Land announced a relaunch of the network's website TVLand.com.
The new TVLand.com features special areas devoted to all aspects of entertainment including television, music and movies. Each section delivers unique attractions such as full-length episodes of beloved classic television shows including The Andy Griffith Show, Leave it to Beaver and Gunsmoke.
Additionally, in the coming months, the site will feature The Beverly Hillbillies, Hogan's Heroes and Just Shoot Me. Television fans will be able to access these series online as select episodes are showcased on the site.
There are much more features added to the website, I urge you to click HERE to see what they are!

Retro Television Network (RTN), announced today to add an affiliate in El Paso, TX. The network will launch in 2008 on a digital stream of KFOX-TV, the local FOX affiliate that serves the El Paso, TX / Las Cruces, NM market.
Viewers will fall in love all over again with Love, American Style and will be on the edge of their seats as Dr. Richard Kimble, played by David Jansen, is The Fugitive on the run trying to prove his innocence. In the evening, audiences will enjoy seeing Robert Stack as Elliot Ness in The Untouchables.
If you don't know by now, RTN is a new television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed (on digital streams) with classic hit shows, in addition to local programming including news, weather and sports. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel and provides local broadcasters with a way to get ratings and successfully monetize their digital spectrum.

On October 16, Christopher Knight (The Brady Bunch) will be the first celebrity in the world to interact with his fans online and sign Brady collectibles with the inscriptions they request. You could be a part of this historic event-- there are a limited number of online signing experiences available, so Brady fans need to act fast (Each signing event includes a FREE DVD recording of Chris signing your item and responding to your question!).
Go to LiveAutographs.com and check out the exclusive inventory of signing experiences featuring Chris Knight. Select your package (1 guaranteed authentic autographed item + you get to ask Chris a question and WATCH him respond!). Purchase it today to reserve your place at this Exclusive Online Fan Event. Grooovy!

TV Land Brings Back Wings, More Night Court; RTN Pittsburgh Launch Schedule; Gossip Girl Picked-Up for Full Season

TV Land has yet made more changes to its October 15 schedule. Originally we were getting Night Court back starting next Wednesday from 7-8am each Wednesday, but now TV Land has announced it will air each weekday at 7am starting Monday (Oct. 15)! They have also re-added Wings to the schedule starting Monday. It will air at 7:30am each weekday morning. M*A*S*H was airing weekday mornings in this hour and will now be moved to 8-9pm in primetime. That means the weekday primetime mini-marathons will be shifted from 8-10pm to 9-11pm. Sanford & Son was airing 10-11pm, now it won't be as the marathons will continue in that slot. M*A*S*H will follow still 11pm-12am. Also, the Wednesday and Friday marathons will be switched. So we will get Sanford & Son on Wednesdays now from 9-11pm and M*A*S*H from 8-10pm (because TV Land Movies air Fridays at 10).
See the full schedule if you are now totally confused on what is airing when by clicking HERE!

We announced previously that WPXI-DT in Pittsburgh, PA will be turning into a Retro Television Network (RTN) starting Monday, Oct. 15. Now we have your first look at the launch schedule! We are so proud that SitcomsOnline.com continues to be the exclusive home for classic TV schedules and news. The digital feed of WPXI will air RTN programming weekdays from 10am-2am, Saturdays 7am-1am, and Sundays 10am-2am. Among the classic programs will we see on weekdays include I Love Lucy, Gomer Pyle, Happy Days, My Three Sons, Laverne & Shirley, and Get Smart. On weekends we will see shows like Mork & Mindy, Brady Bunch, Family Affair, Petticoat Junction, Family Ties, Hogan's Heroes, The Honeymooners and The A-Team! Wow! So many classics! If you live in Pittsburgh and don't have digital cable, get it now!
To see the full schedule for WPXI-DT Pittsburgh, click HERE!
Also, we will have more on RTN in the next week or so, including an exclusive interview with them! So stay tuned for updates!

Acclaimed and much buzzed-about new drama Gossip Girl has become the first new series picked up for a full season of episodes.
With online buzz mounting and the show's success on other platforms like iTunes, the premiere of The CW’s new drama Gossip Girl also gained significant number of viewers in its target demos when DVR usage is factored in, according to Nielsen live-plus 7 day ratings.
Gossip Girl continues to also be a hit on different platforms like iTunes, where the two most recent episodes continue to rank among the top 5 downloaded shows on the site.
As far as live ratings, the show increased a bit in its previous episode over the previous week. The show is watched by just under 3 million viewers each week live. Not good, but not bad for The CW.

Tonight it is week four already for sitcoms Back to You and 'Til Death. Tune in starting at 8/7 central on Fox!
I have seen the third episode already for the new addictive ABC series Dirty Sexy Money, airing tonight at 10/9 central, so I'll comment a bit on it. The episode title is "The Italian Banker." That term has a few meanings one is a sexual position! Anyway, there seems to be a sex tape done by one of the Darlings. And a blackmailer has it and wants a million dollars for it. Darling family lawyer Nick George (Peter Krause) doesn't tell Tripp (Donald Sutherland) about it and gets the money to pay off the blackmailer another way (I won't spoil it). Nick also interviews each Darling children to see who the sex tape belongs to. I'm sure no one will ever guess who it belongs to. We also get a taste of Tripp's nemesis Simon Elder (who will be played by Blair Underwood). Did he kill Nick's father? We will find out. But anyway, tune in tonight for the sex tape episode of Dirty Sexy Money. You'll be saying "Oh My God" like Nick does when you watch this great episode!

Roseanne S9 DVD Contest; NBC Universal Buys Oxygen Network; 3 New RTN Affiliates

It is time for a contest! Get ready fellow sitcom fans, this time we have 5 Roseanne - The Complete Ninth Season DVD sets for giveaway, thanks to the fine folks at Starz Home Entertainment.
Eight top-rated seasons, over 40 major awards and more than 200 classic episodes have all led here: In this infamous final season, The Conners win the lottery, Roseanne battles terrorists, Dan ponders the meaning of life, Jackie meets her prince, DJ finds love and Darlene gives birth. For millions of Roseanne fans, it was the unforgettable year of secrets, surprises, new romance and bittersweet memories in which we said goodbye to one of the greatest comedies in television history.
Say goodbye to the show and own the final 24 episodes on DVD. You could be one of the five lucky people to win the DVD, so enter the contest by clicking HERE. The contest started yesterday and runs through October 30. Just make sure you read the rules before you enter, so you know what you have entered into...always should read the fine print ;)

NBC Universal is acquiring Oxygen Media, one of the nation's leading female-focused cable television networks, thus expanding its highly successful cable portfolio. NBCU will acquire Oxygen for $925 million. The network, which is available in more than 74 million homes, has been registering significant growth in both ad sales and viewership, with the just-completed third quarter being the most-watched in the history of the network. Launched in 2000, Oxygen is the only fully distributed entertainment cable channel launched in the last decade.
The transaction is expected to close in November following the receipt of customary regulatory approvals. So, we won't see any major programming changes until then. We'll certainly keep you up to date on any changes to the schedule. The network currently airs reruns of series such as Roseanne, A Different World, Grace Under Fire, Ellen, and more.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will partner with Barrington Broadcasting Group to launch RTN affiliations in Toledo, OH; Colorado Springs, CO; and Traverse City, MI. The new affiliates will launch Thursday, Oct. 11 on the digital streams of WNWO, Toledo's NBC affiliate; KXRM Colorado Springs' FOX affiliate; and WPBN, Traverse City's NBC affiliate. RTN will be replacing The Tube Music Network, which originally aired on these digital channels.

Sitcom wise tonight we have week two of Cavemen and Carpoolers. As I mentioned in my Carpoolers review, the second episode of Carpoolers is decent. Tune in starting at 8/7 central on ABC, "Come on Eileen!" You'll see what I mean by that when you watch the second episode of Carpoolers.

RTN Renews Affiliates in Savannah and Myrtle Beach; Remembering Brett Somers

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that Media General has renewed its RTN affiliations in Savannah, GA and Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC for another year. RTN, which originally launched in both markets in the fall of 2006, currently airs on a digital stream of WSAV, the NBC affiliate in Savannah, and WBTW, the CBS affiliate in Myrtle Beach/Florence.
RTN is of course a television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed with hit classic TV shows. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel and provides local broadcasters with a way to get ratings and successfully monetize their digital spectrum.

Game show legend Brett Somers passed away on Saturday and GSN will honor her in style. She was the popular Match Game panelist and will be honored by GSN in an all-day marathon Saturday, September 22. The Somers' Match Game tribute will air from 9 AM to 4 PM ET on Sept. 22 and will feature some of the best moments from her years of work on one of America's all-time favorite game shows.
Immediately following the marathon, GSN's original documentary THE REAL MATCH GAME STORY: BEHIND THE BLANK airs from 4 PM to 5 PM ET.
Additionally, on Sunday night (Monday morning) September 23 at 3:30 AM ET, GSN will air an episode of Password from 1971 where she appeared with then-husband Jack Klugman, as the other celebrity guest.
Over the years she has guest starred on many classic TV shows such as The Love Boat, Barney Miller, Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple, Love American Style and more.
For more on her passing and the GSN event, click HERE. You can also share your memories. Ms. Somers will be dearly missed! She was 83.

Important Nick at Nite and TV Land Schedule Changes; RTN in Reno in January

Well it's not that important. Nick at Nite's changes are a bit important though. We gave you the September fall schedule a few days back. Nick at Nite has since altered that just a bit. They will air America's Funniest Home Videos after all. Every night at 4:30am, replacing one of the Home Improvement encores. The other changes are really on Fri-Sat. Fridays will get a little bit of a change from 10pm-1am. Originally it was back-to-back Home Improvement, George Lopez, and Fresh Prince. Now it will be one Home Improvement, one George Lopez, back-to-back Home Improvement at 11, Fresh Prince at 12 and another George at 12:30am. Weird...because Saturdays 10pm-1am it is not like that. Fresh Prince encores were slated Fri-Sat nights 3-4am, now it will be the same as Sun-Thurs, which is Roseanne and Cosby Show.
So, let's go back to the September schedule to see the fully updated schedule that will start Sept. 10.
In other Nick at Nite news, the movie Grease will air again tonight pre-empting programming from 9pm-11:30pm.
Moving on to TV Land, not many changes really, it is just minor stuff. The Saturday line-up for this Saturday only, September 1, will be changed a bit. We get a Sanford & Son afternoon-thon from 1-4pm, followed by three movies until 10pm, then Andy Griffith mini-marathon will air until 1:10am. I guess this is for Labor Day weekend. Click here to view this change.
The week of Sept. 17, What's Happening Now!! will return for a week at 7am. I guess because M*A*S*H will be airing a lot that week, with the anniversary marathon.

RTN is now coming to Reno, NV! They announced that it has entered into an agreement with COX Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Reno, NV. The new affiliate will launch Jan. 7, 2008, on a digital channel of COX's KRXI-TV, a FOX affiliate that reaches more than 260,000 households in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.
"RTN-Reno viewers will delight in seeing a young Michael Douglas in The Streets of San Francisco, one of the original procedurals that spawned many of today's hit shows," said Mark Dvornik, Executive Vice President of RTN, "and they will enjoy hearing Robin Leach say 'champagne wishes and caviar dreams' in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on their very own 'Prime Time all the Time' schedule."

Nick at Nite's September Schedule; RTN in Albany Now

As promised, we will give you the Nick at Nite September schedule. The schedule is broken up into two periods, Sun-Thurs and Fri-Sat. Fri-Sat is really the same as Sun-Thurs but an hour later. Home Improvement, which will get a week-long marathon Sept. 3-9 (9p-5a each night), will kick-off the night by airing from 9-10pm starting Sept. 10. George Lopez will premiere after that airing 10-11pm. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air follows the two newcomers, which will both likely do very well, from 11pm-12am. From midnight to 3am, we get the same three shows again. Then at 3am we get Roseanne and at 3:30am The Cosby Show. Wow...both of those have been heavily reduced, especially Roseanne! At 4am we get Full House and 4:30am another slot of Home Improvement. 5am will be the wheel of shows again, with Mad About You being added to the wheel now. Finally, 5:30am will remain Full House. So, what about Fri-Sat? OK, Home Improvement, George Lopez, Fresh Prince will kick-it off from 10pm-1am, and again from 1am-4am. Then 4-5am we get yet another Home Improvement hour (its third hour!). 5-6am will be the same as Sun-Thurs. America's Funniest Home Videos will be gone. Confused? See our September schedule and you can share your thoughts there as well.

RTN has been added to another city now! If you live in these area and don't have digital cable, there this a good reason for you to get digital cable so you can watch RTN on the DT feeds of these channels. They announced today that it plans to launch a new affiliate on the digital channel of Albany's ABC station, adding more than 550,000 households to RTN's rapidly expanding footprint.
The new network will launch Oct. 1 on WTEN-TV, a Young Broadcasting station that serves upstate New York, western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. Shows like Matlock, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii 5-0 and Streets of San Francisco are expected.

RTN Added in Green Bay, Adds Hip Hop Harry to Weekends; Seinfeld Last Season DVD and Complete Series DVD; Price and Wheel News

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to launch an RTN affiliate in Green Bay, adding more than 430,000 households to the network's viewing area. The new affiliate will launch Oct. 1 on WBAY-TV/DT, a digital stream of Young Broadcasting's ABC affiliate WBAY-TV.
"Our new agreement with RTN will allow WBAY-TV to provide the Green Bay market with a new viewing option that will be a complementary blend of the station's local programming and news with RTN's Prime Time all the Time classic hit show format," said Deb McDermott, President of Young Broadcasting.
Meanwhile, RTN announced today that it has acquired the over-the-air broadcast rights for weekend mornings for the Emmy-nominated children's show Hip Hop Harry. Under the terms of the agreement, the network will air the program on Saturday mornings in all RTN markets, beginning in mid-September. Hip Hop Harry is produced by C to the B Productions and is a musically-based, live action program designed to entertain, educate and inform pre-school aged children.

As we first announced this morning on our message board, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the final season of Seinfeld on DVD on November 6 along with a huge complete series set featuring all nine seasons.
Seinfeld: Season 9 is a four-disc boxed set including all 24 episodes from the ninth and final season of the long-running series, including the finale that drew viewership numbers of over 75 million and hours of exclusive, never-before-seen bonus footage. The holiday must-have of the year, Seinfeld: The Complete Series, offers the ultimate and most comprehensive Seinfeld experience ever. The 32-disc, two-volume set offers 180 unforgettable episodes of the multiple Emmy® Award-winning show along with "The Official Coffee Table Book," a 226-page, bound anthology filled with photos, quotes, trivia from every episode, and personal reflections from Jerry. The collectible book also includes a bonus disc featuring "The Roundtable," an exciting hour-long round table discussion among the four cast and creator Larry David reminiscing about the award-winning show's run on air. A total of 104 hours of bonus features are included with Seinfeld: The Complete Series. also on Nov. 6. Sounds good! Read more about it and discuss here.

We end today with some classic game show news. CBS's Emmy-Award winning The Price is Right, with new host Drew Carey, will have its 36th season premiere on Monday, October 15 (11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, ET; 10:00-11:00 AM, PT), on the CBS Television Network. Carey was recently named host of television's long-running game show, succeeding former host Bob Barker, who retired in June after 35 years on the show.
The new season will start out with some exciting wins, as several contestants make some lucky spins on the big Wheel. Others have the chance to win some of the most expensive cars ever given away on the show, as well as trips to exotic locations and more amazing prizes. In addition, the familiar set has been refreshed to give it an updated look while keeping the recognizable Price is Right theme and appearance.
Meanwhile, Wheel of Fortune, which has ranked as television's #1 syndicated series every year since its premiere, marks its historic 25th season with all new shows beginning on Monday, September 10, 2007.

New York Update: WNYW and WWOR Fall 2007 Schedules; RTN Adds Stations in Pittsburgh and San Fran

We gave you the Fall schedule for WPIX (CW11) in New York a few weeks back, now we finally have WNYW (Fox5) and WWOR (My9)!
Let's start with WNYW. Their new schedule for weekdays will start on Monday, Sept. 10. Not many changes, but the second run of Montel Williams will return back to the station and air weekdays at 10am. The first run will continue to air on sister net WWOR. WNYW will add the new first-run news magazine TMZ TV weeknights at 6:30pm and a second run at 12 noon. Not many sitcom changes, but they have Still Standing at 4:30am. This will be the second run, while the first run will continue to air on WWOR. Since TMZ TV is coming, The Simpsons' second slot will now be at midnight. Weekends will see various changes from week to week until early October. Right now we only have the schedule through Sept. 23, so we don't have any new additions except Saved by the Bell airing Saturdays at 7am starting Sept. 22. Comics Unleashed, The Outer Limits and Alias will be leaving WNYW and in syndication nationwide.
I suggest you view the full line-up for WNYW by clicking HERE!
Let's move on to WWOR. They have made more changes than WNYW, but not as much as WPIX did. WWOR's new weekday schedule will take in effect on Sept. 17, but there are some additions on Sept. 10 such as new court show Judge David Young back-to-back from 11a-12p, new game show Temptation back-to-back 2-3p and Girlfriends leaving the network and in syndication. On weekends, we see Star Trek come on Sundays at 11PM. The show has aired on WNBC this season. Then on Sept. 17, their full new weekday line-up begins with The Cosby Show leaving at 7:30-8:30a replaced by One on One and Half & Half. Half & Half will air its primary run at 4pm. Law & Order: Criminal Intent joins the weekday line-up starting this week and will air weeknights at 11pm, shifting the sitcoms from 12-2a only. We get Bernie Mac, Malcolm in the Middle, Still Standing and King of the Hill. For the weekends, Half & Half will air Saturdays also from 6-7pm and Law & Order: SVU joins the network airing Sundays at 8 & 9pm. As the case with WNYW, we don't have details on anything past Sept. 23, so the weekend schedule is being edited for each week until everything premieres. We have yet to see Baywatch scheduled, and that is coming back to syndie this year, but not sure if a local in NY has picked it up. My guess is WWOR or WNYW will have it starting the weekend of Sept. 29/30. I'll let you know.
Anyway click HERE for the WWOR Sept. 10 changes and Sept. 17 line-up.

Last week we mentioned a RTN affiliate was added in Raleigh-Durham, NC. Now we have updates for Pittsburgh and San Francisco! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it has entered into an agreement with COX Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Pittsburgh. The new affiliate will launch Oct. 15 on COX's WPXI-DT, a station that reaches more than 1.1 million households in one of the nation's top-25 markets. Starting Oct. 15, WPXI will celebrate its 50th anniversary by launching a new "classic" TV station, featuring programs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. This Retro Television Network (RTN) will include shows like I Love Lucy, The Rockford Files, Mission Impossible, Magnum PI, Little House on the Prairie, Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days and Family Ties. At least 19 other TV markets nationwide offer or soon will launch RTN channels.
The new WPXI channel would be RTN's Pittsburgh affiliate. The local station would have more programming flexibility than WPXI already does with its NBC affiliation. For instance, RTN normally might offer Little House on the Prairie at 9 p.m., but if you wanted to run Mission Impossible instead, they can get you Mission Impossible while still offering Little House on the Prairie to everyone else, so, it's a neat way of using new technology!
RTN also announced that it has entered into an agreement with Young Broadcasting to launch an RTN affiliate in San Francisco. The new affiliate will launch Oct. 1 on the digital stream of KRON, Young Broadcasting's flagship station that reaches more than 2 million households in one of the nation's top-5 markets.
"KRON-TV and RTN are set to bring Bay area viewers a new network on our digital channel featuring classic shows from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s (such as Hawaii 5-0, Matlock, Mission: Impossible and Streets of San Francisco)," said Mark Antonitis, President and General Manager of KRON. "We believe that Bay Area viewers will love seeing these hit shows, in addition to the local programming and news that will complement the network."
This is sounding so good! I hope one in NYC gets turned into a RTN affiliate soon! We will have continued RTN updates right here on the blog.

TV Land Adds Bob Newhart Anniversary Stunt, Possible Beverly Hillbillies Anniversary Stunt; RTN Adds New Station in North Carolina

TV Land has added a few extra stunts for September! TV Land will celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Bob Newhart Show on Monday, September 10, from 8pm-12am! If you miss the marathon somehow, you can catch 7 of the 8 episodes online at TVLand.com for the entire week anytime at your leisure from Monday, September 10 to Sunday, September 16. September 16, is the acutal date the series premiered 35 years ago. For episode info click HERE.
TV Land will continue to celebrate the 35th anniversary of M*A*S*H as well for an entire week, from Sept. 17-21 from 8-11pm Mon-Thurs and 8-10pm on Friday. This is in addition to the already scheduled primetime stunt they announced for Sept. 15-17. So, it will be nothing but M*A*S*H in primetime from Sept. 15-21...almost an entire full week! September 17 is the actual date the series premiered 35 years ago. We don't have episode info yet from Sept. 17-21, but it will be posted on the above link when available to us.
Finally, the last marathon will also be a week-long marathon from Sept. 24-28 from 8-11pm Mon-Thurs and 8-10pm on Friday. TV Land hasn't formally announced what the show is yet, but all guesses hint that it will be a 45th Anniversary marathon for The Beverly Hillbillies! The show premiered Sept. 26, 1962...so what else can they air that week? I'm sure fans will be happy with this! We will confirm when they announce it! And could this be one of the '60s shows they have acquired for regular play starting sometime in 2008? Maybe!
Anyway, these are in addition to the week-long marathons of I Love Lucy and Sanford & Son for the first two weeks of October, before the regular primetime schedule returns Oct. 15 with the addition of Designing Women.

Retro Television Network (RTN), which is owned and distributed by Equity Media Holdings Corporation, announced today that it will partner with Capitol Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Raleigh-Durham. The new affiliate will launch Sept. 10 on Capitol Broadcasting's WRAZ-DT, a station that reaches more than 22 counties in North Carolina. The new 24 hour-a-day network will be available over-the-air on digital channel 50.2 and on Time Warner Digital Cable channel 251 in the Raleigh, NC area.
RTN is a new television network that provides each affiliate a customized feed with classic hit shows, in addition to local programming including news, weather and sports. RTN is specifically designed to go on a broadcast digital channel and provides local broadcasters with a way to get ratings and successfully monetize their digital spectrum.
RTN is home to dozens of classic TV shows, such as Hawaii 5-0, Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Matlock, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes and Gomer Pyle USMC.
Let's hope more stations announce plans to carry RTN! We will let you know of course.