Thursday, January 12, 2006

TCA Winter Cable Press Tour: Day 3; Sitcom Pre-Emptions; Website Offering Classic TV for Free

Day 3 of the TCA Winter Cable Press Tour has been slow so far. Not many news to report as of now. Hallmark Channel has brought out sitcom stars to star in original TV movies. Some of the stars they are showcasing include: Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) in Hidden Places, Shelley Long (Cheers) in Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door, Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Judy Reyes (Scrubs) in Our House, Patrick Duffy (Step by Step, Dallas) in Falling in Love and Desolation Canyon, Stacy Keach in Desolation Canyon and Blackbeard, Richard Chamberlain in Blackbeard andCasper Van Dien in The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb. Here are descriptions of those:

Hidden Places:
A deep yearning for home had led Eliza to Wyatt Orchards ten years ago. Now widowed with two young children, she faces mounting debts and the realization that her family’s financial survival is all up to her. When a stranger, Gabe, appears at her doorstep, Eliza guesses he is no different than the other out-of-luck characters searching for work during the Depression. But the familiarity and determination with which Gabe tends to the orchard raises unanswered questions. With the help and support of her Aunt Batty, Eliza learns to trust and understand Gabe. Academy Award® winner Shirley Jones, two-time daytime Emmy® Award nominee Sydney Penny and Jason Gedrick star in “Hidden Places,” a Hallmark Channel Original movie premiering Saturday, January 28, (9/8c).

Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
Emmy® Award winner Shelley Long and Academy Award®, Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Patty Duke star as Bridget Connolly (Duke) and Betsy Lucas (Long), two social climbing society mavens from Catalina Island who have engaged in not-so-friendly rivalry for decades. But when Bridget’s daughter (Crystal Allen, “Maid in Manhattan”) returns home after a failed romance and falls in love with the boy next door, (Ken Marino, What I Like About You) her childhood friend and Betsy’s son, the two women try to put their differences aside for the sake of the children in “Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door,” a two-hour Hallmark Channel Original movie premiering Saturday, February 4 (9/8 c). Patrick Duffy (Step by Step) and Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5) also star as best friends and golfing buddies who want no part of their wives’ feud.

Our House
No one saw them as people. She saw them as friends. Ruth Galloway, a wealthy Beverly Hills widow, has a chance encounter with Billy, a homeless woman who rescues Ruth after she attempts suicide. This story was profoundly important to the film’s star Doris Roberts, who found inspiration not just in the script but also in the writings of her late husband, author William Goyen. “He wrote that, when we see infirm, handicapped or older people, or the homeless, we tend to turn away,” Roberts said. “We shun them and we take away their light.” It is Roberts’ hope that, just as her character does, people will be inspired to offer hope to those who may have lost it, not to turn away. Five-time Emmy® Award winner Doris Roberts and Judy Reyes (Scrubs) star in “Our House,” a Hallmark Channel Original movie coming in March 2006.

Desolation Canyon
In an outlaw ghost town, two aging gunmen realize they have much to learn about the Old West in “Desolation Canyon.” Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach stars as Samuel Kendrick a retired gunfighter living in an isolated cabin in Desolation Canyon with his common law wife. Patrick Duffy stars as Sheriff Tomas ‘Swede’ Lundstrom, an old friend who fought with Sam on the Union side in the Civil War, where Sam first earned his reputation as a deadeye shot. Following the war, both wild young men rode with an outlaw gang, but have subsequently reformed with Swede switching to the right side of the law. The two men are reunited on a mission to track down Sam’s estranged outlaw son, Johnny Kendrick, in an effort to save him from deeper trouble and possibly a violent death “Desolation Canyon,” a Hallmark Channel Original movie premiering July 2006.

Blackbeard
Cannons roar, cutlasses clash and the Jolly Roger flies high as one of history’s most notorious cutthroats sails the Caribbean in search of buried treasure in the rousing Hallmark Channel Original movie event “Blackbeard” premiering June 2006. Angus MacFadyen (“The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood”) stars in the title role, Mark Umbers (soon to be seen in movie theaters in “The Good Woman”) plays a dashing Royal Navy officer and newcomer Jessica Chastain is the feisty heroine. “Blackbeard” marks the first time that four-time Emmy Award® nominee Richard Chamberlain and three time Golden Globe® nominee Rachel Ward have starred together since their memorable pairing in “The Thorn Birds.” Stacey Keach (“The Prison Break,” “Mike Hammer”) also stars as a pirate captain undone by Blackbeard’s ruthless cunning.

A&E has a lot of original series in the works, most are reality shows, but one is of interest to us: A Guy Walks into a Bar, an hour-long sketch comedy series featuring Cheers’ George Wendt and comedian George Gray. The reality series include Driving Force. John Force is a dominant figure in drag racing, with 118 career victories he holds the world record for consecutive Funny
Car championships. Its described as 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter meets the bonerattling thrills of the drag strip.


If there is anything else we will update it here. So check back!

Meanwhile three sitcoms will get pre-empted for their next episode. ABC's Hope & Faith will be pre-empted this week for a one-hour edition of Dancing with the Stars: The Results. ABC will push back the all-new episode until January 20 and push back the episode that was slated for January 20 to January 27. January 27 was originally a rerun anyway. I think this move is more so ABC can build even more on its new drama hit In Justice, which has done decent. Hope & Faith is coming off a season high in the ratings this past Friday.
Finally, after doing not so good in the ratings this past Monday for the series and season premieres of Emily's Reasons Why Not and Jake in Progress, ABC has pulled both shows for next Monday (Jan. 16) and replaced it with an encore of The Bachelor: Paris season premiere. Maybe so The Bachelor can do better at 10 p.m. and Wife Swap will be a better lead-in for the encore at 9 p.m.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Internet content provider iWatchNow is looking to take advantage of the growing Internet video market by launching a broadband video-on-demand service.

www.iwatchnow.com will offer classic TV shows such as the The Dick Van Dyke Show, Roy Rogers, and Popeye, along with “cult” movies including Night of the Living Dead and the Kevin Costner vehicle Sizzle Beach USA.
iWatchNow says its service is compatible with PC, Macintosh and Linux computers.
The service will be free to viewers choosing to watch programming with commercials, or $3.99 for a one-time download fee that buys six commercial-free programs, with an additional 99 cents charged for every commercial-free show after that.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, June 9

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Friday, June 9

  • Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Watch Marc on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Martin Short (Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Martin is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a musical guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sandra Bullock (Working Girl) - Sandra appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris guest co-hosts a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay discusses the motivation behind their new true-crime podcast Freeway Phantom on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig is telling Drew about working with Reese Witherspoon on their new film and the latest season of The Morning Show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso will be on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about his role on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Jason Alexander (Listen Up!/Bob Patterson/Seinfeld/Everything's Relative/ E/R) - Eric and Jason talk about The Cottage on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Reba McEntire (Reba/Malibu Country) - Reba will be on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Geena Davis (The Geena Davis Show/Sara/Buffalo Bill) - NBC's Today catches up with Geena in the 9am hour.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI) Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

06/09 - Apple TV+ Comedy The Afterparty Returns July 12; Abbott Elementary Season 2 Dominated Across All Platforms
06/08 - The CW Summer 2023 Premiere Dates; Peacock's Bupkis Gets NBC Airing
06/07 - Hallmark's Christmas in July Programming; The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Launches July 6
06/06 - New Superman Animated Series Coming to Adult Swim; TV Stars Come Together in Netflix Film
06/05 - Shout! TV's ALF Reunion; Hulu's This Fool Season Two Premieres July 28
06/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 5, 2023)
06/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Declares Rating Victories for 22-23 Season; Australian Version of The Office in the Works
06/02 - HBO Renews Somebody Somewhere for a Third Season; Remembering Marlene Clark of Sanford and Son and Other Sitcom Stars We Recently Lost
06/01 - MeTV's Marry Me Block on June 4; TBS Sets Miracle Workers: End Times Premiere Date for July 10
05/31 - Amazon Freevee's Jury Duty Gets Special Release; Stars on Mars Fan Experience
05/30 - 75th Emmy Awards Nominations on July 12; Final Season of HBO's How to with John Wilson
05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22