Benjamonster's TV

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1997-98 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Spin City Dharma & Greg The Drew Carey Show Ellen Primetime Live Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Apr May ABC overhauled some of its Wednesday night comedy block for the 1997-98 season but it ultimately remained a solid but not dynamite lineup. At 8pm was Spin City , which was tasked with leading off the night after being in the protected Tuesday 9:30pm slot for its first season. This was a big task for a fairly new show that also was more geared to adults and it did alright but nothing special in the lead-off slot. It was followed by the new sitcom Dharma & Greg , which became an in...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - KRISTA VERNOFF STEPPING DOWN FROM "GREY'S ANATOMY" & "STATION 19" It was announced this week that Krista Vernoff will be stepping down as showrunner of Grey's Anatomy and its spinoff, Station 19 , at the end of the season. Vernoff took over as showrunner for Grey's in 2017 after creator Shonda Rhimes departed for Netflix and then she took on its wayward spinoff in 2019. Both shows have continued as cornerstones for the network ever since. Although this appears to be amicable in press releases, I wouldn't be surprised if there was still some hard feelings over ABC abruptly cancelling the first show Vernoff created that went to series, Rebel , after just a few episodes in Spring 2021. This is the second major departure for Grey's Anatomy  this season as its leading lady, Ellen Pompeo, will be leaving the series when it returns from its winter hiatus. Both dramas will probably stil...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Back Injury! This Week's Episodes The Bob Newhart Show #27 "Backlash" (First Aired: September 29, 1973) Bob throws his back out right before a planned trip to Mexico with Emily that he was reluctant about going on to begin with. Bob and Emily Hartley have one of TV's most underrated marriages. There was such a grounded realness in their interactions with each other and this episode, while filled with comedy, also includes honest conversations between the two of them. Bob Newhart is a gifted comedian but being stiff is a little bit a part of his shtick so seeing him actually physically stiff proved that there is another layer he doesn't usually have. This was a wel...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Hiller and Diller ! HILLER AND DILLER September 23, 1997 - March 13, 1998 13 episodes ABC Starring: Kevin Nealon, Richard Lewis, Jordan Baker, Allison Mack, Kyle Sabihy, Jillian Berard, Faryn Einhorn, Jonathan Osser and Eugene Levy Created by: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel Plot: Ted Hiller (Nealon) and Neil Diller (Lewis) are a comedy writing team for television. Hiller is a family man with wife Brooke (Baker) and three mostly average children (Berard, Einhorn & Osser) while Diller is an absentee father with two rebellious children (Sabihy & Mack). Their worlds collide more when Hiller helps Diller's kids get into his kids' school. Brief Pilot Review: Hiller and Diller bills itself as a sitcom with equal billing for the two stars but the pilot episode felt a lot more like Kevin Nealon was the lead and Richard Lewis was a supporting character. The pilot starts with a couple lame D...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1997-98 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Home Improvement Soul Man Home Improvement Hiller and Diller NYPD Blue Oct Soul Man Over the Top Nov Grace Under Fire Soul Man Various Programs Dec Grace Under Fire Jan The Drew Carey Show Feb Mar Home Improvement Something So Right That’s Life Apr Soul Man Something So Right May ABC was revamping much of its Tuesday lineup with Roseanne having ended and Spin City moved to Wednesdays. Home Improvement and NYPD Blue remained as the 9pm and 10pm anchors but the other slots were a mess throughout the season. The plan was ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - BIG DEBUT RATINGS FOR "THE LAST OF US" & "NIGHT COURT" It was a week of big ratings news, one not surprising and one a complete surprise. The unsurprising news was a big debut for HBO's sweeping new drama The Last of Us . The video game adaptation has been heavily hyped and premiered to HBO's second best debut ratings since 2010 after last year's highly anticipated House of the Dragon . The bigger surprise came two nights later when NBC's revival of Night Court premiered to 7.55 million viewers and a 0.98 demo. That might not seem like a lot but it is huge for 2023. It was the best demo for ANY show on broadcast this season that didn't have an NFL lead-in. Its viewership was the best for an NBC comedy since the debut of the Will & Grace revival in September 2017. This was much more surprising because this show didn't seem to have much buzz and while the original was highly...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Playwriting! This Week's Episodes The Bob Newhart Show #136 "Group on a Hot Tin Roof" (First Aired: January 28, 1978) The members of Bob's therapy group are upset when one of their group members writes a play with characters based on the other members of the group. This episode has a really funny conceit and is a great used of the therapy group that became more prominent characters in the later years of The Bob Newhart Show . There was very strong casting of the altar egos for the group members that really makes this work. There's also a rare moment of serious physical comedy from Bob Newhart in a side plot involving science experiments for Emily's school. The...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Brooklyn South ! BROOKLYN SOUTH September 22, 1997 - April 27, 1998 22 episodes CBS Starring: Jon Tenney, Michael DeLuise, Gary Basaraba, James B. Sikking, Yancy Butler, Titus Welliver, Klea Scott, Patrick McGaw, Richard T. Jones, Adam Rodriguez and Dylan Walsh Created by: David Milch & Steven Bochco & Bill Clark & William M. Finkelstein Plot: The lives of cops in the 74th precinct of Brooklyn. They are led by patrol sergeant Frank Donovan (Tenney) who is secretly reporting to Lt. Stan Jones (Sikking) from Internal Affairs. The pilot plot intersects those two worlds and also involves a policewoman and girlfriend of one of the victims, Ann-Marie Kersey (Butler). Other major characters include well-liked cop Jimmy Doyle (Walsh) who is paired with transfer Phil Roussakoff (DeLuise). There was also volatile cop Jack Lowery (Welliver). Many other cops populate the main cast. Brief Pilot Re...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1997-98 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Timecop Monday Night Football Oct Nov Various Programs Dec Jan America’s Funniest Home Videos 20/20 The Practice Feb Mar Apr Push May America’s Funniest Home Videos ABC continued to search for a proper lead-in to Monday Night Football as they had been unsuccessful since MacGyver went off the air in 1992. The newest attempt for Fall 1997 was sci-fi drama  Timecop , based on the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie of the same name and set in the then-future 2007. None of the cast returned for the movie and the ratings were pretty terrible. It lasted just five weeks before it was pulled and specials aired in the 8pm hour for the rest of foo...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS The Golden Globe Awards returned to TV after a year in the doghouse with a ceremony that aired on a Tuesday and was a little bit disjointed but not without its moments. Jerrod Carmichael got a few zingers off as host and was daring at times but also a bit low energy throughout the show. Some of the speeches also went insanely long, especially early in the night before they started running long. The big winners were Abbott Elementary and The White Lotus . Abbott won Outstanding Comedy Series and also picked up wins for Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams. The second season of The White Lotus picked up where the Emmys left off with wins for Limited/Anthology Series and Jennifer Coolidge (who gave the night's most memorable acceptance speech). There was a surprise in the Drama category where House of the Dragon scored an upset win, topping The Crown, Severance, Ozark and Better Call Saul . There ...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Pool Hustler! This Week's Episodes The Brady Bunch #116 "The Hustler" (First Aired: March 1, 1974) After Mike gets a pool table from his boss, Bobby becomes an expert in pool and takes on Mike's boss at a party. The penultimate episode of The Brady Bunch (and the last to feature Robert Reed) is a Bobby-centric episode that features Jim Backus in a guest role as Mike's boss. It sort of feels like nothing really happens though. The episode seems like its steering towards Bobby getting a comeuppance for his pool obsessions but then he just beats Mike's boss and the episode sort of just... ends? I'm used to my Brady Bunch episodes having a lesson attached! The...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Bless This House ! BLESS THIS HOUSE September 11, 1995 - January 17, 1996 16 episodes CBS Starring: Cathy Moriarty, Andrew Clay, Molly Price, Don Stark, Raegan Kotz, Sam Gifaldi Created by: Bruce Helford Plot: Burt Clayton (Clay) is a postal worker living in New Jersey with his wife, Alice (Moriarty) and children (Kotz & Gifaldi). Rounding out the main cast is friends of the couple, Phyllis and Lenny (Price & Stark). Brief Pilot Review: I'm not familiar with Andrew Clay as a comic and I know this was a very sanitized version of his schtick but I was pretty put off by it in this pilot. It seemed to want to be a little gruff while being about as formulaic of a sitcom as it can be. The series was incredibly broad and tried to push the envelope in all the wrong ways (the mom referring to her pre-teen daughter's "hooters" or a vampy customer at the post office asking Burt to ...

Last week, I looked at  My Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Shows  for 2023. This week, I turn towards the new shows. This is more of a crapshoot because I don't know how these shows will turn out. On  last year's list , my Top 2 were The First Lady and The Gilded Age and I ended up feeling "meh" at best about both of them. Meanwhile, one of my favorites like The Bear wasn't even on my radar. But based on what I know now, here are My Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2023! Honorable Mentions (shows that look interesting but I'm skeptical if they'll really work for me and my tastes): The Last of Us (HBO), The Idol (HBO), Masters of the Air (Apple TV+), All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix) 10. FULL CIRCLE (TBD, HBO Max) There isn't too much information on this show yet but it is notable for being a rare venture into television by acclaimed film director Steven Soderbergh. He has only done a few TV projects in his career, most notably The Knick . Thi...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - BILLS-BENGALS WILL NOT RESUME It was the story of the week (or at least tied with the House of Representatives shenanigans) that was primarily a sports story but also a TV story. As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Monday Night Football was suspended when the scary situation of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin passing out on the field and having to be given CPR to resuscitate him. The good news is that Hamlin is continuing to improve though he remains in critical condition. And the attention started to turn to what to do about the game. The NFL announced on Thursday night that the game, which was only in the first quarter when it was suspended, will not resume. The playoff seeding will be based on win percentage while certain circumstances may warrant the AFC Championship Game being played on a neutral site. I was critical of the initial handling by the NFL with how long it took to cancel the game for the night. But I d...

This is a new feature on the blog that will run on Thursdays. Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. We are starting, fittingly enough for early January, with Very Very Snowbound! This Week's Episodes 227 #57 "Snowbound" (First Aired: January 9, 1988) The residents gather in Mary's apartment during a blizzard. I believe this is the first full episode of 227 I've seen in my life. I felt like this was actually a really good episode to watch to get a sense of the characters and how they interact with each other since they were all in the same room for much of the episode. It had some funny moments and I always enjoy when characters play a board game together even if Monopoly predictably devolved into arguments. I Love Lucy #148 "Lucy i...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Matt Waters ! MATT WATERS Programming Details: January 3, 1996 - February 7, 1996 6 episodes CBS Starring: Montel B. Williams, Kristen Wilson, Richard Chevolleau, Cyndi Cartagena, Felix A. Pire, Nathaniel Marston, Amy Hargreaves and Sam McMurray Created by: James D. Parriott & Steven Phillip Smith Plot: Matt Waters (Williams) is a retired naval officer returning to his alma mater, Bayview High School, to teach science after his brother is killed in a gang-related murder. The rest of the cast included his colleagues (Moore, McMurray) and students (Chevolleau, Pire, Cartagena, Marston, Hargreaves) Brief Pilot Review: This is a very standard school drama that we've seen in many TV shows and movies. We've got a tough guy who's new to teaching coming in and trying to deal with a population that wants nothing to do with him but of course he's going to win him over with h...

Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2023 with a look at my Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Shows of 2023. For this list, I am sticking with shows that have not yet aired in this Emmy cycle and also looking at shows that are definitely or very likely to return in 2023 whereas some others like Euphoria are more unknown. So here we go! Check out my  list from last year ! 10.  AMERICAN AUTO (January 24, NBC) The 2021-22 TV season saw a slew of strong new broadcast comedies. Abbott Elementary got most of the attention and whatever attention Abbott didn't get went to Ghosts . Those two shows are very deserving but there was another show that flew under the radar with a quietly strong first season. American Auto is a spiritual successor to Superstore . It was perhaps less fully formed than the two other comedies mentioned but it really found its groove as the first season went on. I'm really glad NBC renewed the show and I expect it will really hit its stride in Season Two. 9. THE O...