I Love Lucy Christmas in Color on CBS Dec. 20; Fox Now Giving New Drama a Two-Night Premiere

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I Love Lucy Christmas in Color on CBS Dec. 20; Fox Now Giving New Drama a Two-Night Premiere

As we first broke on Twitter on Friday, The I Love Lucy Christmas Special, a one-hour special featuring two newly colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the 1950s series, will be broadcast Friday, Dec. 20 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on CBS. The two episodes - the seldom-seen "Christmas Episode" and "Lucy's Italian Movie" (aka "Grape Stomping") - were colorized with a vintage look, a nod to the 1950s period in which the shows were filmed. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set - at the beginning and end of the hour - with no interruption between the episodes. The programs feature Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as the Ricardos' friends and landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz.

"The Christmas Episode" finds the Ricardos and Mertzes decorating Lucy and Ricky's Christmas tree and reminiscing about how their lives have changed since the arrival of the Ricardo's son, Little Ricky (Keith Thibodeaux). Flashbacks (in black-and-white to emphasize the time lapse) recall the night Lucy tells Ricky she is pregnant, the time Lucy shows up unexpectedly as part of a barbershop quartet, and the day Ricky and the Mertzes rehearse taking Lucy to the maternity ward. "The Christmas Episode" was first presented as part of the regularly scheduled "I Love Lucy" series on CBS in December 1956. The episode wasn't included in the series' long history of rebroadcasts, first on CBS Daytime and later in syndication. Thought to be "lost," CBS rediscovered the episode in 1989.

"Lucy's Italian Movie" finds the Ricardos and Mertzes visiting Rome, where Lucy is invited by a famous Italian film director to appear in his next picture, "Bitter Grapes." Mistakenly thinking the film concerns the wine industry, Lucy sets out to visit a local vineyard where she soaks up more local color than intended. "Lucy's Italian Movie" was originally presented on "I Love Lucy" in March 1956 and became an instant classic. It was included in CBS's 1958 summer series, "The Top 10 Lucy Shows," as chosen by television critics.

I Love Lucy aired on CBS from Oct. 15, 1951 until May 6, 1957. It was voted "the best TV show of all time" in a 2012 viewer poll conducted by People Magazine and ABC News. You can buy The I Love Lucy Christmas Special colorized on DVD Nov. 5 as well from CBS Home Entertainment!

Almost Human

New buddy-cop thrill-ride Almost Human (starring Karl Urban, Michael Ealy and Minka Kelly) will now have a special two-night series premiere on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, following an NFL On Fox double-header, and Monday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Fox. Bones will continue Mondays at 8:00 PM ET/PT with all-new episodes on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, followed by all-new episodes of Sleepy Hollow at 9:00 PM ET/PT. Bones moves to Fridays and makes its new night premiere on Friday, Nov. 15 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, following the season finale of Master Chef Junior the prior week. That same night, Raising Hope will have its fourth season premiere with one hour of all-new back-to-back episodes at 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM ET/PT, a week later than originally planned. Also, Bones was originally slated to move to Fridays on Nov. 8, while Almost Human was originally scheduled to premiere Nov. 4. But all that has now changed to what we just relayed!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, June 30

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

United States of Al - "Punch / Musht" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Hazel gets in trouble at school, Riley and Vanessa disagree on how to handle the issue.

Ghosts - "Farnsby & B" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
As Sam and Jay await the arrival of their first official bed-and-breakfast guests, they face obstacles triggered by a Norse curse placed upon them by Thorfinn; Isaac takes a huge, centuries-in-the-making step in his personal life.

B Positive - "Payroll, a Waterwall and Valley Forge" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gina struggles to keep Valley Hills running smoothly after Mrs. Ludlum quits and starts work at a rival assisted living facility. Also, Drew wonders whether he should go on another road trip adventure or stay close to Gina.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 27)

Thursday, June 30

Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Craig Robinson (Killing It/Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office) - Craig chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jim Carrey (Kidding/The Duck Factory) - Jim appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris will be on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Kym and Finesse guest co-host a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason appears on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena is a guest on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Steve Carell (Space Force/The Office/Come to Papa/Watching Ellie) - Steve appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Michelle Buteau (Enlisted/China, IL) - Michelle will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela talks about Netflix's Middle Classy on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Page Kennedy (Blue Mountain State) - Page is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai talks about executive producing Saturdays on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.