Thursday, April 12, 2012
Fox To Air Married...with Children Pilot; Hallmark Pulls Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart On Weekends
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Fox is giving viewers a chance to look back at a show that defined the network and created one of television's most iconic characters: Al Bundy. On Sunday, April 22, the premiere episode of Married... With Children will air at 7:00 PM ET/PT followed by an encore of The Simpsons' 500th episode at 7:30 PM ET/PT, kicking off an historic evening on Fox. Married... With Children premiered Sunday, April 5, 1987 on Fox, with three half-hour broadcasts (7:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM) of the show's "Pilot" episode. In the pilot, Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) gets front row seats to a basketball game, but Peggy (Katey Sagal) makes him stay home and meet their new neighbors, Marcy (Amanda Bearse) and Steve Rhoades (David Garrison). The Simpsons officially launched as a full-fledged series on January 14, 1990, but Springfield's most famous family had appeared on Fox for several years in a number of animated "shorts" as part of The Tracey Ullman Show. So, to celebrate The Simpsons' continuing impact on popular culture, Fox will encore the series' 500th episode, "At Long Last Leave," in which the Simpsons are evicted from Springfield and join an off-the-grid community outside of town.
Of course immediately following these rebroadcasts, Fox's 25th Anniversary Special will air from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT (as we have mentioned many times) and will take an entertaining look back at the groundbreaking and irreverent shows that have come to define the network. The star-studded special will pay tribute to Fox's most memorable moments with appearances by Fox talent, highlights from iconic series and specials and reunions with cast members from some of the network's fan-favorite series, including Married... With Children, In Living Color and That '70s Show, among other surprises.
The Hallmark Channel has made a last minute minor schedule change. It's not that big of a deal, but we still want to make a note of it for you classic TV fans out there. Starting this weekend, the Saturday and Sunday 2-6am block of The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show will be removed. Two hours each of Frasier and I Love Lucy will air instead on weekend mornings. Not to fret fans of The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, because both classic sitcoms will remain in this block on weekdays from 2-6am. It's just that they won't be seven days a week anymore. No reason for this weekend change, but perhaps ratings had a lot to do with it. Usually that is the culprit for a quick leash, especially on Hallmark.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered 12 days ago on April 1 on Hallmark with a marathon that did OK in the ratings, while The Bob Newhart Show has been airing on the cable network since January, but it has moved timeslots already--going from 8-10am to 2-4am. With Mary Tyler Moore starting at 4-6am, there is no other place to go for a bad timeslot, other than out of the line-up completely. So let's hope it does well in this early morning block, so at the very least it can remain there. We're gonna make it after all!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, March 31
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Signature Service Loyalty Rewards Program" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Malcom receives an unexpected call from USC’s athletic director about a baseball head coach vacancy. Meanwhile, Calvin and Marty start a new signature loyalty rewards program at The Fuse Box.
Poppa's House - "Say Wha?!" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Junior’s fundraising effort for his film takes a dramatic turn when he discovers Poppa’s flea market purchase is worth a fortune. Vivica A. Fox guest stars as “Judge SayWha.”
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Monday, March 31
- Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Watch Jennifer on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jay Ellis (Running Point/Insecure/The Game) - Jay talks about Running Point and Freaky Tales on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
- Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Bad Teacher/The Big Bang Theory/The Class/Roseanne) - Sara chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about The Conners on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Survival of the Thickest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) - Michael talks about Sacramento on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to hit the headlines in an all-new Drew's News on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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