Fox To Air Married...with Children Pilot; Hallmark Pulls Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart On Weekends

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

Thursday, November 13

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Pregnancy Test and an Old Man’s Gallbladder" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s jealousy rears its head when Mandy gets sent on an overnight work trip with her ex and current boss, Scott (Christopher Gorham). Meanwhile, Jim and Audrey panic when they find a pregnancy test in Connor’s trash.

Ghosts - "T-Daddy" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor’s relationship with his daughter is strained when he pushes her to follow a career in finance over poetry. Meanwhile, Jay confronts labor unrest at the restaurant.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)

Thursday, November 13

The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob swings by the studio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Olivia Holt (I Didn't Do It/Shake It Up) - Olivia appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Alicia Silverstone (American Woman) - Alicia talks about A Merry Little Ex-Mas on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - NBC's Today catches up with Jake in the 9am hour.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Oliver talks about Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Karen Pittman (And Just Like That...) - Karen talks about The Morning Show on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie joins the Tam Fam in a daytime exclusive to celebrate the new season of her hit show Elsbeth on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine talks about her new film Eternity on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Lake Bell (Bless This Mess/How to Make it in America/Childrens Hospital) - Lake talks about HBO Max's The Chair Company on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.