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

Monday, September 25

Son of a Critch - "Particip-action" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark is forced to participate in the school's Sports Day; Fox fights for her mother's attention and attempts to break the school record for gold medals.

Run the Burbs - "Li Xi" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As they celebrate Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Andrew worries about his parents' relationship; Camille pitches her business to Andrew's mother; the kids get into trouble with their business startup.

Children Ruin Everything - "Dignity" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Following embarrassing run-ins with her boss and co-workers, Astrid feels on the back foot and disconnected from her younger co-workers; Astrid realizes her best move might be to attend a drink night with the rest of her team.

American Dad! - "Productive Panic" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Francine becomes an overnight sensation when a famous art dealer discovers her homemade pottery.

Breeders - "No Matter What: Part Two" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie's health is continuing to worsen; Paul helps out a distressed Luke but finds himself in more conflict with Ally; at Baby Jay's naming party, Ava declares her love, and Paul makes an offer that will take him and Ally back in time.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)

Monday, September 25

  • Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry) - D'Arcy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jon Lovitz (Mr. Box Office/NewsRadio/Foley Square) - Jon is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) and Mark Consuelos (Alpha House/Hope & Faith) - E! News has interviews with Kelly and Mark at 11pm on E!.
  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Guys with Kids/Entourage) - Jamie-Lynn appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry talks about her new book Thicker than Water: A Memoir on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Punkie Johnson (After Life) - Punkie talks about her podcast Love Thang with Punkie Johnson on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her Big Boss album and tour on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


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

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network
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