TCA Winter Press Tour: ABC; 'Silver Spoons' Coming to DVD; TV Land Schedule Changes

Monday, January 15, 2007

TCA Winter Press Tour: ABC; 'Silver Spoons' Coming to DVD; TV Land Schedule Changes

Cable's TCA tour is over for winter, but now the broadcast networks are up! It kicked off yesterday (Sunday, January 14) with ABC going up. The big announcement was the return date for Dancing with the Stars. The show will be in its 4th cycle and will return March 19 and air Mondays 8-9:30 and the results show on Tuesdays 9-10pm. The first two Mondays (March 19, 26) the show will be two-hours (8-10pm) long. To offer viewers two weeks to see the performers in action before voting, the first results show will air on week two, so the first results show will launch March 27 9-10pm. The show will not be facing American Idol. The new cast will be announced on Good Morning America closer to premiere, probably in February.
ABC hasn't mentioned thus yet on when the other mid-season shows will air. But it is safe to assume that new sitcom Notes from the Underbelly will air Mondays at 9:30 p.m. when Dancing goes to 90-minutes starting April 2. ABC will likely use the 2 two-hour editions to launch a new drama at 10pm, perhaps October Road or continue to try to build What About Brian, which will soon feature Stacy Keibler, who was on season two of Dancing with the Stars. ABC also has a great drama coming up called Traveler. That could air Tuesdays or Wednesdays most likely. ABC also has Set for Life, a game show with Jimmy Kimmel and The Big Give, a reality show from Oprah, that could air Tuesdays by February. The sitcom George Lopez (returns Jan. 24) will try to capitalize on the success of Dancing with the Stars, by having past contestants Mario Lopez, Stacy Keibler and Jerry Springer as guest stars on separate episodes. Television icons Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) and Adam West (Batman) will also guest star, as will Academy Award winner Rita Moreno.
ABC also stated that Six Degrees and The Nine could return to the schedule to finish off its episodes before the season ends. And ABC stated that Day Break will be coming back to finish its episodes online, on ABC.com in February.
The following shows has panel sessions today: Lost, In Case of Emergency, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Men in Trees and Ugly Betty. The biggest discussion came from the Lost panel where were learned quite a bit. The producers of the show are talking to ABC executives on a period on when to end the show. The producers are saying they want to end around 100 episodes, which would be about 4 full seasons and maybe a short 5th season. They want to end on top and not 'jump the shark.' And next season, the series' 4th season, ABC might go with 22 straight weeks of all-new episodes rather than two batches of episodes. So, the show could debut in January and end in May, like 24 does on Fox, or start in the fall and end in late Feb. I would try to have a scheme where it could air in all three sweep months, so maybe start in early October and run it to end of November sweeps. Start it up again in mid-February and end in early May? I guess we can discuss that in the summer press tour or upfronts, it is way too early to talk about 2007-08 season. Winter press tour is about mid-season 2007.
As for the other panels, ABC announced for In Case of Emergency that Jane Seymour is coming on the show for three episodes. Seymour will play Jason's (David Arquette) mother, Donna and tries to get frisky with Harry (Jonathan Silverman). Her first episode will air Feb. 14 at 9:30pm.
Desperate Housewives panel released more on Marcia Cross' real-life bedrest. Dixie Carter will still be on the show quite a lot until April. And Nicolette Sheridan will have more time on episodes when Cross is on bedrest, and we might even see Edie's son finally by season's end.

I think that is all the noteworthy stuff. Come on back for updates, if any,

Here we are, face to face, a couple of Silver Spoons. Silver Spoons is finally going to come to DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment! Judith A. Moose, who wrote a book on the 80s sitcom, has informed us of this great news! She says special features are also being produced for this DVD set, including audio commentaries. Let's hope most (or even all) of the cast can participate. Judith says we can expect the first season to arrive before summer's end! Hopefully all the episodes will be unedited, and I'm sure Judith will check in on that for us, as Sony is sort of notorious on edited episodes on DVDs, especially multiple part episodes.
This is indeed exciting news and let's hope the plan works out and we do get this set in the summer. You can read Judith's little update and also post your thoughts and comments by clicking here. Together, we're going to find our way (on DVD)!

On Friday evening we announced on our message boards that TV Land will make some schedules changes to its line-up starting Monday. The changes on Monday will be for shows airing everynight between 7-11pm. Includes Gunsmoke coming to 7pm, M*A*S*H moving to 9-10pm and the return of The Jeffersons in primetime from 10-11pm. But that's not all. They will make some changes late Tuesday night (early Wednesday) at midnight with more M*A*S*H and Andy Griffith in the hour. That means Star Trek will be moved to 1:10am, followed by another M*A*S*H at 2:20am. Then on Wednesday, daytime changes will be made, with two I Love Lucy episodes now from 10:30-11:30am, followed by two Green Acres episodes, then an episode each of Brady Bunch and All in the Family. At 2pm Gunsmoke will air, The A-Team moves to 3pm, Miami Vice comes to weekdays airing at 4pm, and Bonanza & Little House round it off from 5-7pm. So, M*A*S*H is doing well, Beaver has been cut down a bit, Gunsmoke is now airing 4 times a day on weekdays, and Miami Vice goes from once a week to 6 airings a week.
To view the full list of changes click HERE. Confused? See the entire line-up here.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, January 20

Young Sheldon - "A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon attends his first comic book convention. Also, Mary tries selling make-up.

United States of Al - "Poker / Pokar" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Art grows concerned when Al gets hooked on playing poker, misses a class and is late for work. Also, Lizzie and Brett’s relationship grows stronger, but she struggles with dating again for the first time in a few years.

Ghosts - "The Vault" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Just as Sam and Jay are set to host a friend’s wedding that could get their B&B business off the ground, the ghost of Hetty’s husband, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), tries to ruin it.

B Positive - "Louisville, Bubbaroo and Sully" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Gina hires Peter’s son to be her lawyer, but things get complicated when he asks her out. Also, Drew and Harry’s van breaks down during their road trip.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me a Sporty Giant" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While staying in Kat's apartment, Randi starts to feel overwhelmed by Kat's quirks; Max and Carter try to teach Phil how to ride a bike.

Pivoting - "The Giving Tree" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Sarah drags Amy and Jodie out on a night of hijinks; Amy struggles to balance a work crisis and her new dedication to motherhood; Jodie's anxiety takes over after sending a flirty text to Matt and doesn't get a response.

Single Drunk Female - "Pilot" (Freeform, 10:00PM ET/PT)
A public flameout forces 20-something alcoholic Sam to move back home with her overbearing mother, Carol; surrounded by all the triggers that made her drink, Sam tries to move past her worst self and figure out her best self.

Single Drunk Female - "One Day at a Time" (Freeform, 10:00PM ET/PT)
An awkward run-in with her former best friend and her ex inspires Sam to own up for her past mistakes, both emotionally and financially; as she resets her relationship with her mother, Sam is horrified to learn Carol is dating.

Warped! - "Pilot" (Nickelodeon, 7:30PM ET/PT)
Milo, the beloved head geek at a comic book shop, finds his world disrupted after his boss hires the quirky and excitable Ruby.

Warped! - "Challenged!" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After Milo's nemesis Carl beats his world record, Ruby helps him try to reclaim it.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 17)

Thursday, January 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Catch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Jennifer is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
David Cross (Arrested Development/Running Wilde/Oliver Beene) - David appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Laura Linney (The Big C) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Laura and Kristin are guests on Watch What Happens: Live at 10:30pm on Bravo. NBC's Today catches up with Laura in the 9am hour.
Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Ricky chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sharon Gless (House Calls/Turnabout) - Sharon chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones/Vice Principals/Partners) - Edi will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) and Randall Park Fresh Off the Boat/Veep) - Ed and Randall talk about Peacock's True Story with Ed and Randall on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and on PEOPLE in 10 at 8am.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Kym and Finesse guest host The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Wendy talks about Paramount+'s The Game on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about her new book Enough Already on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Chris is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kyle Mooney (Arrested Development) - Kyle appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
John Early (Search Party) - John talks about the final season of Search Party on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen talks about The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere/Camping/Lady Dynamite>) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Sofia Black-D’Elia (Single Drunk Female/The Mick) and Ally Sheedy (Single Drunk Female - Sofia and Ally talk about Freeform's Single Drunk Female on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai talks about Remix My Space on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.