Dallas, Cheers, Good Times And Batman Headline Honorees At The Fourth Annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration Of Classic TV

Megan Mullally Hosts Awards Show Honoring the Best of Television at Santa Monica�s Barker Hangar on Sunday, March 19

Taped Special Premieres on Wednesday, March 22

New York, NY, February 22, 2006 � TV Land announced today that Cheers, Batman, Good Times and Dallas are among the shows that will be honored at the fourth annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV, being taped at The Barker Hangar on Sunday, March 19. The two-hour special will premiere with a special simulcast on TV Land and Nick at Nite on Wednesday, March 22 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The annual celebration recognizes shows and stars from television�s rich history, is hosted by Will and Grace�s Megan Mullally and is sponsored by M&M'S(r) Brand Chocolate Candies.

Several awards will be bestowed upon some of television�s legendary series� and stars. The cast and crew of Cheers will be recognized with the Legend Award, Batman will be honored in celebration of its 40th Anniversary, Good Times will receive the Impact Award and Dallas will receive the Pop Culture Award. TV Land will also present awards in several other categories, including the 2005 Future Classic Award � which TV Land unveiled in 1998 and is presented annually to the one new show from the past calendar year which best exemplifies the qualities of an emerging television classic. Last year�s recipient was ABC�s hit series, Desperate Housewives.

Slated to appear at the show include: cast members from Cheers � Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Shelley Long, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt and Rhea Perlman; Batman�s Adam West and Burt Ward; John Amos, Jimmy �JJ� Walker, Ja�net Dubois, BernNadette Stanis, Johnny Brown and Ralph Carter from Good Times and Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton, Steve Kanaly, Susan Howard, Ken Kercheval and Mary Crosby from Dallas.

LEGEND AWARD

This award is presented to a television series which has stood the test of time and ranks among the most memorable and celebrated shows in TV history. TV Land will honor Cheers as this year�s recipient.

The most nominated series in history, Cheers garnered a total of: 27 Emmy Awards; 6 Golden Globe Awards and several awards from the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America. The staff at the Cheers bar in Boston, MA include: Sam Malone (Ted Danson), the owner and bartender and an ex-pitcher for the Boston Red Sox; Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), the waitress attending graduate school and Carla Tortelli LeBec (Rhea Pearlman), the wise-cracking waitress who had several kids and ex-husbands. Ernie �Coach� Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto), an ex-baseball coach, helped Sam behind the bar until 1985 when the actor who portrayed him passed away and was replaced by Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), a naive and innocent bartender. Diane left in 1987 to write a novel and was replaced by Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), a barmaid. The regular patrons include: accountant, Norm Peterson (George Wendt), local mailman with a knack for trivia, Cliff Clavin, (John Ratzenberger); psychologist, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) and his wife, psychologist, Dr. Lillith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth).

IMPACT AWARD

This award is given to a show that offered both entertainment and enlightenment, always striving for both humor and humanity, with comedy that reflected reality. This year�s recipient is Good Times.

The series, directed by Norman Lear, premiered on CBS on February 1, 1974 and was set in the projects on the South Side of Chicago. It follows the lives of the Evans family as they tackle such hardships as financial problems and discrimination. Florida Evans (Esther Rolle) is the quick witted matriarch of the household, while her loving husband, James (John Amos) is the breadwinner and proud father. Together, their successful parenting skills instill value, pride and morality in their three children who are often bickering. J.J., the eldest son, is an aspiring artist who became an instant hit with his catchphrase �Dyn-O-Mite.� Thelma, the teenage daughter grapples with school, dating and her two overly protective brothers while the youngest, Michael (Ralph Evans), delves into politics and education to become the family�s scholastic success. Willona Woods (Ja�net DuBois), family friend and next door neighbor, appears frequently in the Evans household and is always adding her wisdom and sarcasm.

POP CULTURE AWARD

This award is presented to a show that has crossed the line from television series to pop culture phenomenon. This year�s honoree is Dallas.

One of the most popular prime-time dramas in the history of television, Dallas began as a five part mini-series in 1978 but ended up lasting thirteen years, until 1991. Centered on the Ewing Family -- wealthy Texas oil millionaires -- the soap opera follows their lives on their sprawling South Fork ranch just outside of Dallas. Much of the show�s storylines revolve around money, power, intrigue, dysfunctional family dynamics and their love lives. Patriarch Jock Ewing created Ewing Oil, which was the family corporation. His wife, Miss Ellie, managed their home, Southfork Ranch, and they had three sons: - J.R. (Larry Hagman), the ruthless CEO of Ewing Oil, married to former Miss Texas Sue Ellen Shepard (Linda Gray); Bobby (Patrick Duffy), the nice guy, who marries Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal), daughter of the Ewing's chief business rival; and Gary (played by David Ackroyd and then Ted Shackleford), considered an outcast by his father, who eventually moves to California with his wife Valene (Joan Van Ark). J.R. is almost always a scoundrel, and Bobby is the more honest of the two. The entire Ewing clan lives under one roof, causing more strife than family harmony. By the early 1980's, Dallas was one of the most popular shows in TV history and is often remembered as the show that began the nighttime drama trend that is so popular today.

40th ANNIVERSARY

One of the most memorable series of all times, Batman, celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year and will be honored at The TV Land Awards.

Adam West utilized a tongue-and-cheek portrayal of mysterious millionaire Bruce Wayne with his secret identity as the crime-fighting, bat-watusing Batman. Teamed with the effusively-tongued Robin played by Burt Ward, this crime-fighting duo seeks to keep the peace in Gotham City against an array of super-villains. Each one of these famous foes gains fame for their schemes. Each episode also features the unforgettable fight scenes against the super-villains punctuated by the now famous �Pow,� �Bang,� and �Thud,� that became trademarks of the series. Assisting Batman was his loyal butler, Alfred (Alan Napier), the embattled Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton), Chief O�Hara (Stafford Repp), and in the latter episodes, the innocent librarian/crime-fighting Batgirl (Yvonne Craig).

TV Land has also asked viewers to log on to the network's Emmy-winning website, tvland.com to vote for a variety of fun categories including �Favorite Singing Sibling,� �Coolest Crime Fighting Team� and �Favorite Dream Sequence� with the winners to be announced and presented at the show. The voting is taking place on tvland.com, and will end on March 12. To date, traffic to tvland.com has increased 13% since the voting began.

In addition to M&M'S(r) Brand Chocolate Candies, other major sponsors include Capital One and Nestl�'s HOT POCKETS� Brand SUBS.

Michael Levitt (Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, TV Land Awards 2003, 2004 and 2005, Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion) serves as Executive Producer, Emmy-award winning Glenn Weiss as Director (The Miss Teen USA Pageant 2005, BET Awards 2005, The 59th Annual Tony Awards 2005), Greg Sills as Supervising Producer (Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, The Teen Choice Awards 2005, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2005) and Sal Maniaci and Larry W. Jones also serve as Executive Producers.

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TV Land Productions was created in 2003 to develop original programming that complements the network�s successful acquired programming slate. TV Land Productions has also produced The TV Land Awards Show: A Celebration of Classic TV (March 2003, 2004 and 2005), the Emmy-nominated The Dick Van Dyke Show, Revisited, the network�s first original special for broadcast, which premiered on CBS in May 2004, the Emmy-nominated Still Brady�After All These Years reunion special in September 2004 and Chasing Farrah (Spring 2005), the original reality series that followed iconic Hollywood actress and sex symbol Farrah Fawcett. Over the last year, the network premiered a variety of original series and specials in 2005 including: TV Guide and TV Land Present: The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, Living in TV Land, TV Land Confidential and Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. For more information about TV Land�s original Wednesday night line-ups, visit www.tvland.com.

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