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!
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, April 14
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).
Poppa's House - "Game of Phones" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
In order to show how disconnected everyone in the family has become, Poppa confiscates all cell phones and starts a fun game of truth or dare.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)
Monday, April 14
- Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Watch Kathy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Anthony Michael Hall (The Goldbergs/Awkward/Claude's Crib) - Anthony is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy talks about Prime Video's animated series #1 Happy Family USA on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Central Park/Love in the Time of Corona/Big Day) - NBC's Today catches up with Leslie sometime between 7-9am.
- Christopher Meloni (Happy/Surviving Jack/Misery Loves Company/The Fanelli Boys) and Dean Norris (United States of Al) - Christopher and Dean talk about Law & Order: Organized Crime on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew in the kitchen and sharing how to make one of her family's recipes on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
- Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Brian is telling Drew about his new show, which of her movies had a big impact on him, and growing up with older sisters on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) and Jesse Garcia (Not Dead Yet) - Eva and Jesse talk about their film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, 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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