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.

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with Lydia Cornell; And Lydia Unleashed

We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with Lydia Cornell...one of the stars on the '80s sitcom Too Close for Comfort and now she is on the radio dial on her talk show Basham and Cornell Radio Live. Catch Too Close for Comfort tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT on WGN America! As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form!

We had the pleasure to interview Lydia Cornell - actress, writer, author, producer and radio host. Is there anything this woman can't do? She co-starred as Ted Knight's daughter in the role of Sara Rush on the ABC television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort, where she won a People's Choice Award, and most recently appeared on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Cornell was a Best Actress nominee at Method Fest, which honors outstanding acting performances, for her leading role in the AFI indie Miss Supreme Queen.

We thank Lydia for taking the time to answer some of the most interesting questions we have for her...and her responses were so amazing that we gave her more space on our blog at the end in "Lydia Unleashed." So it is time for another installment of SitcomsOnline's Seven Questions Series! We seriously STILL need a jingle. Any takers out there? How about a Too Close for Comfort style jingle?

"Seven Questions with Lydia Cornell"

SitcomsOnline: We thank you for your time and it is an honor to speak with you! You are of course most remembered by TV fans for your role as Sara Rush, the sexy & beautiful daughter of Ted Knight's Henry Rush on the ABC sitcom Too Close for Comfort. Can you share with us how you got the role?
Lydia Cornell: Thank you! It's great to speak with you, too. I really love SitcomsOnline. My audition for Too Close for Comfort was a comedy of errors. I was half an hour late; it had been raining, I had taken the wrong bus -- and by the time I got there the producers were ready to go home. They had seen 400 girls already for the part of Sara Rush (formerly called "Susan") and they were burned out. I was literally the last girl they saw.
When I walked into the office, the casting director told me I was too late -- that they had already picked four girls for the final callback the next day at the network. I was on the verge of tears when the producer Arne Sultan, came out, took one look at me and said, "What the hell, let her read!" He must have felt sorry for me -- bedraggled, soaking wet. I followed him into an office where there were two other executive producers, one of whom introduced himself as Tom Werner of ABC.
At the end of my reading, there was a direction in the script that said: "Sara gives dad a raspberry." So I picked up an imaginary raspberry and thrust it at Mr. Sultan who was reading lines with me. He looked at me like I was from outer space and said, "What the f--- are you handing me? What the hell is this?" I said, "It's a raspberry. I'm giving you a raspberry like it says in the script." He started cracking up, "Where are you from -- did you just fall off the turnip truck? Don't you know what a raspberry is in show business?" He proceeded to put his lips together, stick his tongue out and blow out the most obnoxious sound. "It's a Bronx cheer!" They all laughed and one of them said, "This girl is exactly what we're looking for. We want you to come into ABC tomorrow for the final callback."
The next day I went to the network wearing a very sweet, virginal-looking flowered dress. All the other girls were in extremely tight T-shirts with their nipples showing. When the casting director called me into the room, I was awestruck to see Ted Knight sitting on the couch, along with several network executives. I hadn't been around Hollywood long enough to realize how scary this was standing in front of a firing squad. Imagine several characters like "Ari" from Entourage sitting there judging you. Ted got up, introduced himself and said "Let's read together, shall we?" I don't remember how I got the lines out, but there were huge laughs at each line I read, at the end there was a burst of applause. Arne Sultan said, "Will you please wait outside." A few minutes later they ushered me back in and said, "It's not protocol to tell an actor without telling her agent first, but we want you to know you got the part!"


SitcomsOnline: Wow, what a story that was! Do you have good memories from the show and do you have a few favorite episodes that you can share? It seems that the cast still gets together and has fun as we saw on the DVD special features?
Lydia Cornell: I have great memories of the show and lots of hilarious ones. I used to have a crush on Jim Bullock and would go to work every day with butterflies in my stomach. (I heard it's okay to have butterflies in your stomach as long as they're flying in formation.) Laughter is my favorite drug and Jimmy made me laugh until I couldn't see straight. I was crushed when I found out he was gay, but then we became the best of friends.
Not long ago, I guest-starred on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm with Seinfeld creator Larry David -- who made me laugh so hard I almost couldn't speak; he's a comic genius. So was Ted Knight, of course. He taught me wondrous things, like how to do a "spit-take" without drooling. It's similar to a double take, while holding a cup to your lips.
Deborah and I were very close from day one. I met her at the network audition. She told me she had worked in New York City for a certain shipping company. It turned out she had worked for my dad -- although we lived in Holland at the time. We were both blown away when we discovered that she had been working with my dad via telex in Holland on a daily basis. Out of all the millions of people and jobs in New York City! Of course there are no coincidences.
I recently wrote and produced a film called Venus Conspiracy with Deborah Van Valkenburgh starring as my abusive therapist sister. We got to finish fighting from the old days - with dialogue that was really juicy. Deb and I could not stop laughing; we have such great chemistry and she said the lines EXACTLY as I had imagined them. I want to make the feature film and a series based on this movie with both of us playing sisters again!
Even though we had a love-hate relationship, I really miss Ted, who died of prostate cancer in the last year of our show. At Ted's funeral I sat on the first row and sobbed uncontrollably as Mary Tyler Moore spoke. And I also miss John Ritter, who used to pop his head in and make us laugh between rehearsals for the Three's Company spin-off, Three's a Crowd. And then there was the legendary Audrey Meadows who played my grandmother. She had starred as Jackie Gleason's wife Alice in The Honeymooners. It's hard to believe all these great comedic actors are gone.
As for my favorite episodes, I love the one in which Jackie and Sara have a pizza fight. She scratches my records and I smear her dry cleaning with pizza. That was a great show because the we got to have several scenes without the grownups.
We heard that it worried Ted that we had so many big scenes without him. The producers were afraid we were developing our own following, which might lead the network to develop a "Jackie and Sara" show someday. They used us to raise the ratings with younger viewers. From then on, they tried to marginalize our roles. That's when they came up with a baby for Ted and Nancy. They also beefed up Jim Bullock's role - so the girls were expendable. Monroe was the perfect foil to Henry Rush. I always think that Ted enjoyed having Jim as the "idiot punching bag" as he been the same kind of punching bag as bumbling newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But I can't believe they didn't realize they could have built up a successful franchise with the Jackie and Sara characters.
I like the episode with the live lion. Monroe and I are making a movie in our house and we bring in animals. The cookie episode where we start a cookie business is another goodie. The one where I get a job as a waitress and have to wear lamb chop underwear with ruffles is another favorite. I hold a pillow over my skirt to hide from Ted. The one where I am the weathergirl and can't get my states right. I love the part when I popped someone on the head with a lint brush. I also loved the episode where Sara tries out for the newscaster job and has to comment about Middle East peace talks by saying: "We could have a war on our hands if these peace talks don't get started. And that is only going to drive up the price of bagels and gasoline."
And yes we do reunite often! Deb and I just went to the Too Close for Comfort reunion party hosted by Arne Sultan and Leonard Stern's long-time assistant Donna. Jim, Deb and I just got together for Jim's summer party in August. Pink Flamingos was the motif. He is as funny as ever. Just got an email from him -- he's in Kansas doing a play.

SitcomsOnline: It is too bad that the show is not in syndication anymore (however, you can watch four episodes TONIGHT on WGN America from 8-10pm ET/5-7pm PT) and the DVDs were halted after just two seasons, any reason why? Have you heard any new rumblings on at least when we can expect the DVDs to continue? I think you told me before that you guys had shot the extras for the next set or two?
Lydia Cornell: The truth is, I have no idea. It feels as if Don Taffner (DLT Entertainment) has deliberately stopped syndicating our show. It's from a more innocent time in history, which I think would be a nice change right now for younger kids. I mean Saved by the Bell is still on and it sure looks dated! I don't see why they won't syndicate our show on Nick at Nite or some other network.
I heard that Rhino, the division of Warner Home Media that produced our DVDs, folded and was absorbed into the parent company. But I wish they'd release the rest of the DVDs. Another theory is this: Maybe the Ted Knight estate owns such a large percentage of the show that it isn't profitable for Don Taffner or any DVD company to produce it anyway. Maybe the profit split would be unprofitable for them. It's always about money.
Deborah, Jim and I did commentary on Season 3 - which is my favorite season. It's odd that they didn't really promote our DVD release. But what I find odd is that Rhino was only interested in promoting Jim Bullock on all the postcards and giveaways. Deborah and I have been available to do PR and advertising. Here's what's going to happen: once my book comes out (more on this below in our "Lydia Unleashed" story), the movie is launched (Venus Conspiracy) and our show starts filming (based on the movie), Too Close for Comfort will come back.
In May of 2008, Paramount/Viacom called us to do a Too Close For Comfort Reunion Show for Entertainment Tonight. But then they suddenly cancelled the reunion.


SitcomsOnline: Last question on Too Close for Comfort...what was the deal that you and Deborah Van Valkenburgh were written out of the show for the last season when Henry and Muriel moved out of San Francisco to a newspaper in Marin County and was retitled The Ted Knight Show? If Monroe (Jim Bullock) got to go, why not you and Deborah? Unfortunately, Ted Knight passed away at the end of that season, do you remember your last memories of Ted and what your thoughts are of him in general?
Lydia Cornell: That was a horrible decision on the producers' part. First, Deb dropped out and didn't want to do a final year. She was always more interested in doing theater and darker roles. But I loved comedy and wanted to stay on. Then Arne Sultan died and new producers came on board whose sole purpose was to satisfy Ted - who had an ownership stake. Since the network never got to develop the Jackie and Sara characters, and our value had been diminished in the last couple of years - the new producers were simply resistant to upsetting Ted. And they didn't realize the value of the Sara character without Jackie. It was like willful ignorance. But to be honest, we had the hardest time ever feeling like they cared about "the girls" on that show. They were constantly trying to push us aside and make us feel expendable. I remember we had these amazing writers for one season - Jeff Reno and Ron Osbourne - who wrote great shows for Sara and Jackie. They were fired for being too talented! They went on to write and create Moonlighting. I have the greatest respect for writers. All the writers on the show were wonderful -- especially Earl Barret and Arne Sultan. Also we were honored to have the gifted and amazing duo of Rocky and Irma Kalish, they wrote Gilligan's Island, Bob Newhart, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis shows, Facts of Life, and tons of classic sitcoms. Irma was President of Writer's Guild America West and is one of the first women to become a producer of a TV show... a woman's activist. We also had Doug Arango and Phil Doran -- who had written All in the Family.
The funny thing is, I would have done the show for free - but my managers at the time were negotiating my contract for more money. I cringed over this, begging them to stop. The producers were so mad they started playing games and wrote me out of one episode - the one with Cousin April and guest star Robert Mandan, who played Ted's brother.
I think that once Arne died, Ted was free to design the show his way. Originally I was so hurt. I thought they decided to get rid of the girls because Ted Knight didn't particularly like us having any clout and a possible spin-off. Who knows? I have grown to forgive and love Ted, but I think the new producers made a mistake.

SitcomsOnline: During and after your stint on Too Close for Comfort you had some memorable guest starring roles on series like The A-Team and Knight Rider for an episode. And my were you stunning on those shows (who could forget that blue outfit on The A-Team!)! How was it being a sex symbol in the '80s? And you still are a sex symbol!
Lydia Cornell: Thank you so much! That is very sweet of you. I was so shy, it was difficult wearing those short-shorts and high heels. It's hard to be a woman in Hollywood unless you're lucky enough to thrive on humiliation. But laughing at myself and writing comedy kept me sane.
I really loved doing action shows. I wish Steven J. Cannell and Don Bellisario would clone themselves, come back and do more of these. I also played a race car owner in the Duke of Hazzard 2-hour CBS movie.
It's weird but David Hemmings, the iconic actor from films like Blow Up and Gladiator directed me in three action shows: A-Team, Hardball and the pilot for Quantum Leap. I was such a pushover I was talked into doing my own stunts on all these shows.
On A-Team Hemmings talked me letting the helicopter come so close to my head it was frightening. He said I didn't need a stuntwoman. Quantum Leap was a wild experience. When I got the part, no one told me we'd be staying out in Lancaster at Edwards Airforce Base for two weeks (where we hung out with the Blue Angels and got a sneak peak at the Stealth Bomber) so all I brought was my toothbrush. When the Teamsters van picked me up at Universal Studios at 5 AM, I wondered why everyone else had so much luggage. When we got there they took me shopping at Target for pajamas and stuff. I had dark hair at the time, long chocolate-colored hair down my back. The first day of shooting, Don Bellisario comes in the makeup trailer and says: "I need all the women to have short hair. This takes place in the 1950's and women didn't have long hair." None of us could believe he didn't mention this earlier - and none of us wanted to cut our hair off. So the hairstylist searched all over Lancaster for a wig shop. We finally found a short dark wig, which I wore in the film.
I also did Hunter -- where the director James Whitmore, Jr., talked me into doing my own stunts. I had to dive into icy Lake Malibu and swim up to the boat that Fred Dreyer and I would have our make-out scene on. What was really annoying was they forgot to put a ladder down so I could gracefully climb out of the water and into the boat. There was a camera on me from another boat, aimed right at my butt. As I swam up, my feet couldn't find any ladder so I got sucked under the boat, then had to grapple around, pull my body up and throw one leg onto the deck while wiggling on board - trying to appear attractive from behind! As I'm about to drown all I'm thinking about is how my ass looks!

SitcomsOnline: It has been known that you had a drinking problem but it is so good to hear that you are now a recovering alcoholic and had your last drink in 1994. How did this affect you personally and in your career having this drinking problem?
Lydia Cornell: I never drank when I was working (except during Christmas with David Hasselhoff when we were filming Knight Rider) but I had a few close calls on auditions. I actually fell down on top of a major director! Auditions made me so nervous.
My book will describe the crash, burn and surrender - and how I got to the other side. I had a catastrophic spiritual awakening and haven't had a drink or a craving to drink since September 11, 1994 - when I walked into a women's recovery group meeting. You will not believe the amazing thing that happened to me that day. It's hard to talk about this because it appears to exist in the realm of the magical - but this gave me concrete, tangible evidence of a loving force in the universe. And now I've finally figured out the key to activating these miracles, which are really natural laws.
I have now been sober for 14 years - the same age as my son. When I say sober, I mean "spiritually whole" in a way you cannot be when you try to just quit drinking by "white-knuckling" it, so to speak. The amazing thing is the gift of helping others stay sober too. We are all plagued by the "fame" drug.
It has been the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I am grateful for each day - and though the demons come back at times, I now have an unshakable higher power to lean on - the guiding principle of the universe.
I've never publicly spoken about this to anyone outside of recovery circles, but I've often stopped to wonder 'how did these seemingly miraculous events happen?' There was one common element: surrender. When I gave up fighting, the outside picture totally changed. But what is the metaphysics of surrender? How did an inner change affect an outer result? As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved at the same level it was created on." You can't fight fire with fire; you can't cure alcoholism with more alcohol or drugs - you have to go to a spiritual or diplomatic solution. Or as George Carlin put it, "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity."


SitcomsOnline: Finally, I must say you have become very successful in your new career! The radio show Basham and Cornell Radio Live in Las Vegas is a success and shows off how smart you really are. It is big in Las Vegas and also nationwide on the Internet at BashamandCornell.com. How did you get involved with politics and this radio program? Do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life and do you still plan on acting from time to time? And to everyone, Lydia has her own website and blog as well at LydiaCornell.com and also has written a novel, if you can share a bit on those as well.
Lydia Cornell: Thank you! Our show is amazing. We hope to have Richard Belzer on next week and Larry Charles soon. He directed Borat, Religulous and lots of Seinfeld episodes. Recent guests on our show include: CNN's Paul Begala, (Senior Clinton Advisor); MSNBC's Pat Buchanan (Former Reagan advisor) John Dean, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage, Senator Tom Daschle, Bill Press, NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, John & Elizabeth Edwards, Rep. Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich, Congressman Charlie Rangel,Valerie Plame, Vincent Bugliosi, Christine Pelosi, Senator Mike Gravel; Senator Byron Dorgan; bestselling authors, celebrities and more.
Yes, I will continue to act! I was just up for a couple of roles on Entourage. I am writing a trilogy of funny books, a TV series and the big movie version of Venus Conspiracy. Like My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Nia Vardalos, I plan to play a role in this.
I also do standup and am co-starring in a new comedy show I wrote with Stephanie Hodge (Unhappily Ever After, Nurses) and Destiny (The Tonight Show, VH-1, MTV) called Pain is Inevitable, Sex Optional” We had our first stage show on Saturday night and it was great!
The novel is an historical thriller called The Sylvia Plan which has taken me several lifetimes to finish. It is about the Trotsky assassination, the Spanish Civil War and a love triangle. Right now it's on the back burner, but will definitely be out after the other books are published.

Our thanks to Lydia Cornell for her time and this opportunity. You can listen to her every weekday morning on Basham and Cornell Radio Live at 8am PT on KLAV or nationwide on http://www.bashamandcornell.com/, and check out Lydia's own website and blog at http://www.lydiacornell.com/.
And don't forget to watch Too Close for Comfort tonight on WGN America from 8-10pm ET (5-7pm PT). If you've never watched it, you are in for a treat...good writing, good comedy, and Lydia Cornell. Enough said! Stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news on Lydia and Too Close for Comfort!


Holy continuation, Batman! Lydia Cornell is not done yet! We have more from Lydia as she was very nice enough to share more stories and insight. So we're calling this "Lydia Unleashed." She is sharing some stories for the first time ever, so you will want to read more from Lydia! Holy exclusives! Time to get unleashed with Lydia Cornell. That is good thing! Unleash the hounds!

Lydia Cornell Unleashed


Lydia on her relationship with Ted Knight...
I had grown up watching Ted Knight on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and I was star-struck by him. He was a comedy legend and I was blessed to have learned the ropes from him. But Ted was hostile toward me and I didn't know why at the time. During our dialogue scenes I was afraid to look him in the eyes, so I'd look at his forehead. He'd stand on his toes to get into my line of vision. I was so nervous I'd fidget and one time I scratched my nose on his punch line. He would yell to the director's booth, "Why is she moving on my line!" They had to stop taping. From then on whenever anybody spoke, I froze. The director became upset that I was too stiff and Ted started a rumor that they were going to replace me with a prop. The National Enquirer sent spies to the set. One time Ted was yelling that I was late to the set, but the truth was that Violet, our wonderful wardrobe designer, was trying to button the pearl buttons on my blouse and it was taking too long. In the tabloids the next week I was accused of holding up production on the set because I was "primping" when I was actually crying while she was buttoning me up!
I have a really funny Merv Griffin story when the whole cast was on his show. Deborah and I were so nervous being on our first talk show we got into a lot of trouble. Deb blurted out a weird secret about Ted and Merv exploded with his lascivious laugh, warning: "Stay tuned and we'll find out what Deborah means when Lydia Cornell, the youngest member of the Rush family comes out!" Then I came out and made it worse! Ted's jaw dropped open in horror and they had to stop taping. Sorry but you'll have to wait another day for the conclusion of this...

Lydia on going to Beirut on a USO tour...
Audrey Meadows is the one who convinced me to go to Beirut, Lebanon on a USO tour with Johnny Grant, the Mayor of Hollywood, during Christmas 1982. Bob Hope had eye trouble that year. This was the most amazing experience - flying into a war zone, being picked up by paratroopers during a blackout, driving through mine fields during a blackout, being choppered onto aircraft carriers and staying above the bombed out remains of the Beirut Carlton. I met Capt. Dale Dye and sang Christmas carols with all the sailors and Marines.
After we left the Middle East, a suicide bomber drove a truck into the Marine barracks and blew up 251 of the best and brightest of the 24th MAU. I received letters from the sons of these soldiers, and years later I got a letter that broke my heart. It was from a 13-year-old boy who had been a toddler when his dad died, and the boy himself was now dying of cancer. He thought I might have met his father before the bombing, and wanted any memories I might have. A disabled combat marine vet sent me his Purple Heart last year for writing that article about Ann Coulter. (More about this below.)

Lydia on the daily happenings on the Too Close for Comfort set...

There is something about seeing yourself on TV for the first time that makes you want to put a bag over your head and jump off a cliff. Contrary to what people believed, I never used drugs on the set, just Liquid Paper to whiten my teeth. This was before teeth whiteners. One day Ted Knight came into my dressing room and caught me blow-drying my teeth. This was the 80's, the era of giant shoulder pads and aircraft carrier hairdos. You could land a plane on my head. In fact, it looked like a 747 was permanently parked there, the wingspan was so huge.
I was supposed to be the blonde bombshell of our show, so I had to stay very thin. Backstage, as on every film and TV set, there was a huge buffet of food they kept replenishing. It was covered with bagels, donuts, cookies, coffee cake, popcorn, chips, ice cream and soft drinks - but I wasn't allowed to eat any of it. There were spies everywhere. One day I left the soundstage, ventured into the outside world and bought a burrito, a taco, and bag of M&M's. I was sneaking back to my dressing room when Arne Sultan appeared out of nowhere. He caught me with all the food and yelled, "Don't you know you're a sex symbol!? You can't eat starch!" (This was before the word 'carbs.') The food went flying into the air and landed all over both of us.
After the first episode aired, the producers took me aside and said my face looked chubby. To make it look thinner, for the second episode I used lift tape to pull up my cheeks until I looked practically Chinese. I think it lifted my vocal chords in the process because my voice got higher and higher until I sounded like Minnie Mouse. But maybe this was just nerves.
I am writing a book about all my humiliating adventures in Hollywood and on the show, and there are so many funny ones to choose from. We were all very immature (as most comic actors are) and we would goof around during rehearsals. One day Ted, Jim, Nancy, Deb and I got into a conversation about sex. I think John Ritter had come to visit that day. By the time we got around to discussing the sex lives of goats and sheep, we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. My stomach actually hurt from laughing, as if I'd done 300 situps. Then the director came in and we were all in trouble for not rehearsing. They couldn't leave us alone for one minute without all hell breaking loose.
On Wednesdays Ted would be all freaked out because the network would come down and watch the run-through with the producers. All of us hated being judged by the "suits." Usually they'd change the jokes and lines so we'd have new pages to memorize each day. We'd do two tapings on Fridays - one with a live audience.

Lydia on the publicity back then...

To bring in male viewers ABC promoted me as a sex symbol. They created posters and publicity shots in which I had to crawl on all fours in a sequined bathing suit. This was so embarrassing! Ted was anxious to have another hit series because after The Mary Tyler Moore Show he was typecast and every show he tried failed, including his own series, The Ted Knight Show (1978). This always happens after you have a hit show. Sometimes it takes years. But Ted felt that Too Close for Comfort was his last chance. So he went along with the network exploiting me in cheesecake bikini photos (anything to raise the ratings) until he saw a magazine on the newsstand one day - this magazine had my face taking up the entire cover with just a tiny photo of him in the right-hand corner. The implication was that I was the star of the show, and the headline was "Lydia is a Daddy's Girl" - in reference to the fact that he played my father. Ted brought the magazine to work and literally threw it at me, yelling "I'M the star of this show! And don't you ever forget it!" There was also a tiny picture of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in the upper left hand corner, announcing their engagement.
From that point on I shunned publicity and did everything in my power to lay low. All I wanted was Ted's approval - but the more I sought it, the more it eluded me. This was the beginning of a terrible time. It seemed there was a concerted effort to diminish my role and make me feel unimportant. At one point, the producers actually went so far as to hide my fan mail. They didn't want my head to get too big. Little did they know the depths of my low self-esteem.

Lydia on her feud with Ann Coulter...
In 2006, I had a public feud with Ann Coulter, America's preeminent hate-monger and "extermination speaker" - who said "the best way to speak to a Democrat is with a baseball bat," and who called for the assassination of Supreme Court Justice Stevens because he is pro-choice... and who helped bring down Bill Clinton with her book High Crimes and Misdemeanors. She also said he should be killed. She was the rock star of the conservative movement for awhile - and got paid $30,000 per speaking engagement at universities.
I was bewildered by her so-called "Christianity" which omits the Golden Rule. Right after she said Bush should "nuke" North Korea, she was the featured pro-life speaker at a Moral Reformation conference! I found this unbelievable. So after she called to revoke the right of women to vote, I sent her an e-mail asking her if she was just kidding or serious. I asked her for an interview, attaching my private home info and home number and asking for an interview. I assumed she was just using humor as a weapon and this was just her "schtick." But she never wrote me back.
Then my article "Death is Sexier than Sex to Ann Coulter" was published and I received 300,000 hits on my website and the publisher's site. Ann Coulter then published my home number and private info on her site and I began receiving death threats, hate mail and a stranger pounding on our door. My kids almost answered the door, and I had to grab them in the nick of time. We lived in mortal terror during Christmas. I did 27 radio shows in 2 weeks, one of which was Basham Radio in Vegas.
At the same time, I was receiving hundreds of love letters and several phone calls at home thanking me for speaking out against this bizarre war-loving, hatemongering form of "Christianity."
I was set to write a book about Coulter, a spiritual-progressive book, but decided I didn't need the negative attention. I wrote the book but there is such a wide cultural chasm in America now - I'd rather bring people together instead of being divisive. So I'm releasing my showbiz and humor books first. The Coulter saga doesn't end here. I have some highly classified details I can't reveal yet, which will come out soon. There is a lot more to this story, and it's pretty scary.

Lydia on raising children...
I interviewed Valerie Bertinelli on my radio show, and we were talking about our kids. I confided that I had been spying on my 14-year-old son's chat room and discovered he was talking about losing his virginity with a girl at school. Needless to say, I am completely freaked out. Valerie said she was nervous about her son Wolfie too. Neither of us can believe we are coping with things like this, since we both barely feel like grownups ourselves. She said that writing her book helped her "purge the shame" of her life. All the things she had been hiding and covering up were finally out in the light of day - and somehow this enabled her to get that lightness of being she was looking for. That's what I'm finally doing - not hiding anymore.

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with Chris Mann; We're Interviewed As Well on Retroality.TV!; Network Notes

We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with Chris Mann...author of the Three's Company book and now pop-culture guru on Retroality.TV! As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form!

We had the pleasure to interview Chris Mann, author, writer, and my friend. Chris Mann is a freelance entertainment and lifestyle writer and behind-the-scenes TV book author. He is best known for his marvelous work on the tell-all book Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three's Company. He's also founder and editor of the pop culture webzine Retroality.TV. A former magazine art director, he sometimes produces and art directs cover and feature shoots for his celebrity health and fitness profiles. He also served as consulting producer on NBC's behind-the-scenes movie about Three's Company, and he's helped produce and write TV documentaries and DVD featurettes about the show and its late star, John Ritter. Chris is currently developing multiple media projects, including an in-depth biography about Ritter.

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

"Seven Questions with Chris Mann"

SitcomsOnline: Hello Chris! We thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with us! We sincerely appreciate it and are honored in talking to you. I've known you for years and I'm also a big Three's Company fan (as you of course know), but I don't think many people know how you got started on your Three's Company book, Come and Knock on Our Door - A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three's Company. Can you share with us why you wanted to write the book and how it all got started?
Chris Mann: I'm honored to do this interview. The amazing energy and effort you and Todd put into Sitcoms Online and your other TV sites has truly encouraged me!
In the early to mid '90s, before the Internet exploded, I had only an inkling how many other people hungered for info about retro TV. Since age 5 or so, I'd had an unbounded love for Three's Company, along with deep admiration for John Ritter and a growing fascination with the show's emotional backstage break-ups. My behind-the-scenes curiosity grew in part out of my journalistic mind -- I guess I just couldn't take Three's Company at face value! While editing The University of Tulsa's student newspaper -- itself a huge undertaking, especially given my intensive class load -- I realized I needed a creative, escapist outlet beyond cracking jokes in class and at work and watching Company reruns in my dorm room.
I'd recently interviewed and met Suzanne Somers during her visit to Tulsa to share her uplifting story of surviving family alcoholism and abuse. After publishing the story in the student newspaper, I recrafted it and designed a Three's Company where-are-they-now fanzine around her Q&A. I sent "The Roomie Report" to all ten cast members, along with letters saying I hoped the fanzine would one day lead to a behind-the-scenes book about the show. Almost none of them responded -- except John Ritter.
Imagine at age 19 getting a call from John saying how "touched and flattered" he was by my efforts and my letter. I was elated and infinitely inspired. So I did three more "Roomie Reports" during my sophomore year at Tulsa University -- the second issue included an exclusive, extremely candid interview with John wherein he broke his silence about his bitter break-up with Suzanne. I retired the "Report" during my junior and senior years, but I kept in touch with John's office. The day after I finished college in '95, I moved to LA. A week later, I interviewed John in person for the book. Doors began opening, along with the casts' emotional floodgates. I knew I had a great story not only about the show but about the price of fame, fortune and ego.

SitcomsOnline: I got your book the second it came out back in 1998. You know I think your book really inspired me to do the Three's Company website (Jack's Bistro) back in 1998 and it is still going today. I wanted to thank you for the hard work on the book on behalf of all fans out there. Can you share with us some of your fondest memories shortly after the book was released to the world? Did fans come up to you and thank you? Did the entire cast embrace it?
Chris Mann: Thank you for your support! As you know, I've always loved your Three's Company site, so it's cool to know Come and Knock on Our Door in turn inspired you. 1998 was a whirlwind year. The book, along with Suzanne's accompanying biography After the Fall, led to heated interviews with Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne on Extra, Inside Edition, ET, The O'Reilly Factor, etc. Joyce promoted my book while disputing Suzanne's. What a hoot to get that kind of publicity -- and how weird to suddenly be in the middle of controversy. Suzanne formally thanked me for sending her the book -- and she told Inside Edition I was a "really nice" guy -- but the battle lines were again being drawn, and it was Suzanne vs. Three's Company Part II.
John also took the book onto a few shows, including Donny and Marie's talk show and a TV Guide Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals special. He and Joyce offered resounding public support, which was unexpected and thrilling. Joyce, Don Knotts, Richard Kline, Norman Fell and even Priscilla Barnes (the only cast member who didn't interview) did book signings with me -- and we all went out to dinner and celebrated with a bottle of champagne John sent me. Fans expressed love and appreciation at the book signings. Howard Stern's show harassed Joyce about Suzanne at a couple of these media-frenzied events. Suddenly, my book had become part of the story. Saying this entire experience was surreal and exciting is a understatement.

SitcomsOnline: Being involved with this book has made you the Three's Company king. All of the entertainment shows on Three's Company and its stars like the E! True Hollywood Story and A&E Biography have interviewed you. Your book was turned into a TV movie by NBC. You also got to produce special features for the Three's Company DVDs. How cool is that! How did you like all of that, though? What was your favorite out of all this?
Chris Mann: The Three's Company king...that's funny! Most of this six-year journey was a joy, and all of it was enlightening. The E! True Hollywood Story was my favorite project, though, by far. In summer 1998, I pitched the documentary to E! as their first THS exclusively about the backstage story of a TV show. They bit. Not to be immodest, but my book, interview and extensive production work were the documentary's basis and backbone. The entire surviving cast participated and were asked questions to elicit the same responses they'd given for the first time ever in the book. The end product was a two-hour video version of Come and Knock on Our Door. My book was everywhere in the show. It seemed like the perfect promotional tool. The THS reran enough times to keep Three's Company in the pop culture consciousness for the next few years. And it helped established the THS brand and lead to behind-the-scenes TV movies about TV shows.
The Three's Company TV movie eventually followed. Though Entertainment Weekly had reported NBC was adapting my book for this movie, things beyond my control (and, at the time, beyond my awareness) transpired and my book didn't get a "based on" credit. I did, however, end up getting a Consulting Producer main title credit, and the book was mentioned in the end titles instead of the main credits. Ultimately, this was a victory for me. This telefilm was one of the highest-rated TV movies of the season. I've since met with one of the movie's executive producers, Stan Brooks. We had a very nice and illuminating conversation. I'm glad he and NBC experienced more success with subsequent Behind the Camera movies.
The A&E shows had excellent producers. And the DVD featurettes offered a bittersweet ending, as I interviewed surviving cast members (minus Suzanne) about John's passing, which deeply saddened us all. I applaud DLT Entertainment and Anchor Bay for giving John his due on these DVDs. But with this project, I felt I'd said everything I could about the show -- and John's death really did devastate me -- so it was definitely time for me to separate from the Company drama.

SitcomsOnline: So we obviously know you love Three's Company and that is your all-time favorite show but what other sitcoms/shows did you love and grow up with and what about of today's shows? I know you are fan of the game show The Price is Right and you're also working on a book on that series as well. What can we expect there and any tentative date on release?
Chris Mann: I loved Ellen (I always saw her as the female Jack Tripper), Roseanne and The Golden Girls. I also grew up watching Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Alice, Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes and One Day at a Time.
I thought Nell Carter was hysterical in Gimme a Break! Recently, I've thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Kudrow's HBO dramedy The Comeback and I like 30 Rock (Tina Fey is a genius) and, because of Molly Shannon, Kath & Kim. If someone would give SNL's Cheri Oteri a sitcom, I'd simmer down now and watch in a heartbeat.
The Price is Right story is utterly fascinating. So much more happened backstage than the public knows. I've talked to the people who lived it and survived it -- producers, longtime Barker's Beauty models, production assistants who molded and shaped the show's formula (including its classic comedic moments) but who were erased from Price history in the recent "official" book about the show. Their stories are so compelling. Bob Barker's memoir will be published in April '09 -- under the banner of a publisher that salutes "traditional, wholesome entertainment" -- so his version of events will likely continue to reign for a while. He's an iconic host, so he deserves his accolades as a performer.
I think much of the audience still needs to believe that Bob, at almost 85, is the gift-bearing, grandfatherly/avuncular figure we grew up believing him to be for 35 years on Price. But he's so much more interesting than the one-dimensional showman his PR and legal machine has long portrayed him to be. In fact, his flaws and vulnerabilities, which probably won't emerge in his book, make his status as a legendary TV survivor even more remarkable. I may start to preview my book on Retroality.TV in 2009. I haven't really had time lately to do much with the book, so I look forward to telling that story when the time is right.

SitcomsOnline: Now your writing for quite a number of magazines and publications. You're such a good writer and you make me look tame compared to you. Can you share with us all some of the magazines and publications you write for and also what were you favorite stories for these?
Chris Mann: Thank you! I've had the good fortune to write stories for TV Guide, Emmy magazine, their web sites and Radar Online. Most of my freelance work this year has centered on celebrity health and fitness. I write and art direct/produce cover stories regularly for Muscle & Body, Get Active! and a newly-launched CVS magazine called Great Health. My favorite interviews have been Lynda Carter, Maureen McCormick, Dara Tores and Apolo Ohno. I'm looking forward to profiling Misty May-Treanor and Antonio Sabato Jr., too.

SitcomsOnline: As readers of our news blog know, you wrote the Three's Company book and you are now running the popular website Retroality.TV. We must ask how you came up with that idea and what made you think it would work? The stars you interview are astounding from Heather Thomas to Stacy Keibler to Olivia Newton-John. Do you have any favorites so far?
Chris Mann: I've wanted to do my own pop culture magazine for years. Retroality grew rather organically out of my passions for retro pop culture and celebreality TV, along with my recent focus on celeb health and fitness. I love survivor stories, and pop icons and retro stars who're still standing are certainly survivors. How have they survived? What have they overcome and learned? Why are they reinventing themselves at age 30, 40, 50, 60? What would they do differently now? Retroality is designed primarily to share these stories while promoting other pop culture enterprises -- such as Sitcoms Online -- that keep retro alive and well.
I want to do the stories that many lifestyle and entertainment magazines often overlook due to their obsession with teenagers, twigs and trainwrecks. Who over age 25 really cares if some 19-year-old CW star needs to eat a hamburger, or if Britney managed to fill her tank up with gas for the eighth time this week? I'd rather know how Lynda Carter found the inner strength and peace to conquer alcoholism, despite her image as Wonder Woman. Or why Heather Thomas uses her celebrity and money to influence politics, and how she's channeling her political fundraising experiences into a fun new novel. Or what breast cancer taught Olivia Newton-John, and how she's inspiring other women, including her daughter.
All of these celebs were once 19 years old, and some succumbed to addiction, eating disorders and other troubles. But they all made it to the other side and have fascinating stories to tell. Maureen McCormick is another example. Look how well her book's doing. I want Retroality to reflect the pop culture and sociopolitical interests of the vast majority of people who could care less about Miley Cyrus and (my nephew's gonna kill me) The O.C. or any of its derivatives.

SitcomsOnline: Finally, so what is coming up in the future for Chris Mann? We know Retroality.TV will be still going strong...any new stories or new features you'd like to tell everyone about the site? We also mentioned you're writing the Price is Right book and a book on the late legendary John Ritter. Can you share with us what you expect to do with the book on John?
Chris Mann: From your fingertips to God's ears! I'm excited about Retroality's future. I've got a few stories in the works for late '08 -- our current cover story interview is Jaclyn Smith, and we should have a very Brady tell-all soon -- and I plan to add multimedia in the months ahead. Our video interview with Joyce DeWitt really sets the stage for what's to come in '09. She opens up about her spirituality, her splintered relationship with Suzanne and her final, healing experiences with John Ritter.
I also expect my book on John to be on the front burner in 2009. To this day, he still inspires me (as I know he does you), and it means a great deal to me to get the chance to tell his story. He'd be 60 this year, and I have to wonder what great things he'd be doing if he were still with us. He lives on, though, through his kids, his wives, his brother, his friends and his work. Many would argue he lived far more in not quite 55 years than some live in 85. Sadly, he didn't live long enough to win Lifetime Achievement awards, receive Hall of Fame inductions, make a trillion dollars or write a self-congratulatory memoir. But I really think he left the world a better, more light-hearted, richer place, and in the end, those contributions are priceless.

Our thanks to to Chris Mann we wish him continued success! Now I must go and do Chris' "show" in return...kind of like how Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno appeared on each other's talk shows on the same night earlier this year! Yes, Chris interviewed Todd and I for his wonderful website as well! So head on over to his website to see that as well! I hope we are interesting like he is! More info on us being interviewed is below.
Our apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time. For more information on Chris Mann, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to view his website http://www.retroality.tv. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news on Chris!


Who would of thunk it, but can you believe we were interviewed?? Both Todd and I have been interviewed by Chris Mann for his website Retroality.TV, as I mentioned above! I would have never imagined I would be interviewed for anything, and I'm sure Todd feels the same way! Thanks to Chris for suggesting this and I thank him for doing our "show" in return! Chris asks both Todd and I some interesting stuff, so I hope you all enjoy the interview and do learn something you didn't know about SitcomsOnline and to a lesser extent, about us. I know we're not stars, but after this interview we sort of feel like stars...just a lil' bit! So, I hope you all get a chance to read our interview. It is a proud moment for SitcomsOnline celebrating the last 10 years and the years to come!

Lots of network notes lately, as it is common this time of year. We have a full season order news for ABC's Private Practice. ABC has picked up the back nine episodes of the show, giving it 22 episodes this season. It was only ordered for 13 episodes originally for its second season. All of the shows that came back from the strike that didn't come back last season have suffered a bit in the ratings, but this show has done modestly better. The show's season premiere on Oct. 1was only at 8.16 million but jumped to 9.22 million when the seven-day DVR numbers came in and jumped from a 3.3 18-49 rating to a 3.8 18-49 rating, on par with its live+same day numbers for its finale last December. Still 9.22 million is not as much as the over 11 million the show was averaging last fall, but even still, it is not as big of a drop when you see these DVR ratings. Numbers for its second episode of this year in seven-day DVR will be known next week. But it seems after seeing the jump, ABC is invested in bringing us a whole year of Private Practice!
In other news, CBS has given two extra scripts for new sitcom Worst Week. The show has began to stabilize a bit and has gone up in the ratings the past two weeks, but still it is losing quite a bit of its Two and a Half Men lead-in. It is quite a funny show, though, my only concern is what will happen when the week ends? It's like on day four already.

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with WGN America; Lost 80s Week and Halloween Marathon for WGN America

We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with WGN America about their addings of classic TV and why they did it, their new name change, and more! As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form!

We had the pleasure to interview Sean Compton, SVP Programming and Entertainment for Tribune. Sean previously worked for Clear Channel radio for 16 years and was their VP Programming for 10 years before leaving in April 2008 to run Tribune programming, which includes the massive change for WGN America. Compton oversees programming for Tribune's 23 television stations and for WGN America. Sean is 34 years old and has worked in radio since he was in high school, and he also says his childhood hero was actually legendary NBC programmer Brandon Tartikoff, and he is bringing some of his shows to WGN America. Sean is originally from Connersville, Indiana, which is between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and he grew up watching those TV markets.
WGN America is TV You Can't Ignore, a broad entertainment network and destination for audiences across America. Part of Tribune Broadcasting Company, WGN America (also available in HD) is nationally distributed via cable, satellite and telco with entertainment programming consisting of cable exclusives, first-run programs, blockbuster movies and live sports.



We thank Sean and WGN America for taking the time to answer some of the most interesting questions we have for them. So it is time for another installment of SitcomsOnline's Seven Questions Series! We seriously still need a jingle. Any takers out there?

"Seven Questions with WGN America"

SitcomsOnline: Thank you Sean and WGN America for your time. We really appreciate it! My oh my I have to say WGN has become the cable network of the year with its great pick-ups of classic sitcoms and we are so honored to speak to you! Fans have been really happy to see this! What made WGN add the Outta Sight Retro Night on Sundays and all the great classic themed weeks?
WGN America: I am a huge fan of television. It amazes me that these shows haven't been given a platform in many years. While everyone is trying to be hip and fresh, I thought it would be fun to dedicate a night to classic television. Our ratings on Sunday nights have more than doubled in some time periods!

SitcomsOnline: Now that networks like TV Land that seem to be focusing less on picking up classics, will WGN America pick up more classic series? Any hints on what the future might hold classic TV wise for WGN America? How about shows like Perfect Strangers and One Day at a Time?
WGN America: We will not have retro 100% of the time. However, we'll stay committed to Sundays as long as the ratings hold up and we'll continue to have special events like '80s week, '70s week, holiday marathons, etc. Our Sunday retro block started with three hours, now we've dedicated eight hours to retro!

SitcomsOnline: There are some classics that have only aired in the theme weeks (Family Ties, Mork & Mindy, etc). Why is that? Is it because of contract rights or is WGN looking into airing them in the future? Also, how are these classic shows doing ratings wise?
WGN America: We experimented with ALF during an '80s week and the network had its best 18-49 and 25-54 night in years. It proved that parents that loved ALF when they were teens, introduced their kids to the show. Brandon Tartikoff and Fred Silverman were masters at bringing families together and these shows are doing it all over again for us. Because of our ALF success, we have added it to the Sunday retro block and included it in our Monday night primetime line-up!

SitcomsOnline: We like that WGN surrounded the Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday with more classics like Coach, ALF, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie. So the classic night label expanded on Sundays to reflect these shows joining the original trio of WKRP, Newhart and The Honeymooners? What about expanding the brand on to other nights or better yet, on weekdays?
WGN America: Even though Coach and ALF air in the afternoons on the west coast on Sundays we still brand it as part of the classic retro night. See our latest promo for all your enjoyment. If the ratings continue to climb, we'll probably add more hours and nights.

SitcomsOnline: We have to talk a little about the change to WGN America. Can you tell fans and readers out there why exactly the network changed from Superstation WGN to WGN America?
WGN America: What was 'super' about the old channel? WGN is 30 years old this October and for years it was branded as "Chicago's Own." We've now branded it as "America's WGN Going Forward." We have 72 million homes and one of the oldest channels on cable. We have great heritage but the channel needed a facelift. We have a long way to go still.

SitcomsOnline: The new look website (http://www.wgnamerica.com/) looks great, too! Can we expect show pages for more shows? And what else can we expect on the website? Are message boards next?
WGN America: The website will be fully ready in a few weeks. The website you see now is temporary. You can expect a much better site by November 3.

SitcomsOnline: Finally, we see WGN America will add The Bob and Tom Show to its late night brand and the syndicated Disney-ABC series Legend of the Seeker later this fall. Can you tell us a bit about both and how will it affect other late night shows like Corner Gas? Will WGN America continue to air the popular Corner Gas for years to come?
WGN America: We aren't speaking for shows' future other than to say that every show that is on the air now will be evaluated and at the end of the day, it comes down to our viewers. Bob and Tom are America's most successful morning show in radio. They air in 160 markets and are highly rated in most of them. They are a great fit with WGN America for late nights. The Legend of the Seeker looks fantastic. It will air on Wednesday nights and again on Saturday afternoons. I've seen the first ten minutes of the first episode and it is very good stuff! We've put a lot of focus on weekends. We added Boston Legal and it airs Saturday evening. We've also added Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie on middays on Saturdays to give those great shows more exposure to folks not able to see them late Sunday nights (and weekday mornings).
Thanks and we hope to add more retro! It's fun to program!

Our thanks to to WGN America and Sean Compton, and we wish WGN America continued success and hope you guys can deliver us more wonderful and classic shows. Our apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time. For more information on WGN America, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to view their website (full version launches Nov. 3) http://www.wgnamerica.com. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news and programming updates for this network.


And those news updates for WGN America starts RIGHT NOW! How convenient! We are turning this day into an all-WGN America day! It just so happens we have news for another theme week for WGN America along with a Halloween marathon, that we mentioned before. We can now reveal that Halloween marathon but first we have to mention the cool theme week!
The next theme week will be called "Lost '80s Week" and will air Monday, October 27 through Thursday, October 30 from 8-10PM ET (5-7PM PT) and will feature four "lost" sitcoms from the '80s that haven't been seen on the air in many years. All four are from Don Taffner's DLT Entertainment. The shows are: Three's Company's two short-lived spin-offs Three's a Crowd & The Ropers, the Ted Knight sitcom Too Close for Comfort, and the Don Adams comedy Check It Out!
The week kicks off with the John Ritter sitcom Three's a Crowd on Monday, October 27 as Jack Tripper now lives with his girlfriend Vicky with constant problems from her father, Mr. Bradford. On Tuesday, October 28, The Ropers take stage as Mr. and Mrs. Roper move in to their new house much to the dislike of neighbor Jeffrey P. Brookes (Jeffrey Tambor). Both Three's a Crowd and The Ropers both briefly aired on TV Land on a few weekend marathons for Three's Company, but they relegated these two shows in the overnight slots of 3-6am in those marathons. And speaking of Three's Company, Sean Compton loves the show (just like I do!) but it is too bad he can't acquire it because TV Land has the rights. He would air the show everyday! Anyway, the third night, Wednesday, October 29, will be one of the most under-appreciated sitcoms ever will air in Too Close for Comfort starring Ted Knight. This sitcom hasn't aired in years despite lasting quite a long time (6 years, 1980-86) and is about Henry Rush and his wife, with his two daughters now living in the apartment downstairs. Finally on Thursday, October 30, we check out with Check It Out, starring the legendary Don Adams leading a staff of a supermarket team.
Check out episode info for this "Lost '80s Week" on WGN America! This is a really good job by WGN America! They don't plan on adding these shows to the actual line-up, but I hope Too Close for Comfort does well so they can add it...as this show is deeply missed. Sean Compton is doing such a wonderful job here!
And we're still not done! That same week is of course Halloween. So on Friday, October 31, from 4PM-12AM ET (1PM-9PM PT) you can catch a marathon of America's scariest (but funny) family...The Munsters! Join Herman, Grandpa, Eddie and the rest of the family this Halloween for scary fun!
Check our episode info for The Munsters Halloween marathon on WGN America! Halloween is not the only holiday getting the marathon treatment on WGN America...coming soon we will reveal what will air on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day!

More Slots for Boston Legal on ION This Week; ABC.com Goes Retro on Thursday; Upcoming Seven Questions Preview

ION Television will add more timeslots for Boston Legal this week. As of now, it is just for this week. Originally it was only stated for Mon-Thurs at 8:00PM and Wednesdays at 9:00PM. Now ION has also added for this week Tuesday at 10:00PM and Wednesday at 10:00PM, both replacing ER, which seems to be underperforming for the network. Last week Legal replaced ER on Wednesday at 10:00PM, so I wonder if ION will make the announcement soon that this will be until further notice, but as of now these changes are for this week only. ER is only on once this week, and that was last night at 10:00PM. Legal is airing 8 times this week, but three of them are encores. Legal and NCIS, which can only air twice a week, have done well for the network since being added last month. Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer are coming to ION in 2009, and I think they will do as well.
In other changes, it seems Flash Gordon on Fridays isn't doing well, as yet again a Warner Bros. movie will air Friday from 7-9pm this week. Above the Law (1988) will air leading into an RHI movie (Tornado) at 9pm. Flash Gordon has been preempted for the last few weeks (last week ION aired a Warner movie marathon from 4-10:30pm), but as of now, it is scheduled for next Friday.

I thought this was worth mentioning as we have a big following for retro stuff here at SitcomsOnline.com. Beginning Thursday, October 9, the home page of ABC.com will give a nod to 1973 with a retro main page for the premiere of the new drama, Life on Mars (launching that night at 10PM ET/PT). The home page will offer the same categories (schedule, shows, community, full episode player, etc.) but in the signature monochromatic green font, popular to DOS in the 70s. After clicking on their desired section, users will be transported back to the ABC.com of 2008.
Additionally on the Life on Mars section you will see the songs of 1973. Get down with streaming songs on the 1973 Radio Player. The selections will include album cover art, song title and album title.
Where were you in 1973? NYPD Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) finds himself in the cultural hotbed of New York City in the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women's lib and the civil and gay rights movements without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player -- suddenly hurtled back in time when he's ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He's trying mightily to understand what has just happened to him and how he can get back "home." In her return to series television, Lisa Bonet (Cosby Show) has a supporting role. The all-star cast also includes Harvey Keitel as Lieutenant Gene Hunt, Michael Imperioli as Detective Ray Carling, Gretchen Mol as Annie Norris and Jonathan Murphy as Detective Chris Skelton.
I have watched the premiere and I must say they do a great job of recreating 1973. It looks so retro but has the 2008 look to it. Fans of the great cop shows of the past will want to tune in and fans of cop shows of today, especially funny ones, will want to tune in. It has gotten good reviews and is worth checking out this Thursday at 10/9 central on ABC.

We are working on quite a bit of upcoming Seven Questions interviews. Seven Questions is of course our on-going interview series where we talk to a network or a star and ask them, well...seven questions. We try to ask the most interesting questions that cater to you all...sitcoms, classic TV, and programming. We have interviewed networks like RTN, AmericanLife, ION Television and stars like Alf Clausen in the past, with more coming very soon. First up will be WGN America later this week! You'll want to read this if you are a fan of classic TV and WGN America has brought classic TV back, as we all know! Also in the works (if everything works out): TV Land, Nick at Nite, Too Close for Comfort star Lydia Cornell, and author Chris Mann (Retroality.TV)!