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, November 10
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to New Horizons" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Dave’s silent auction wins lead to a classical concert outing with Gemma and the Butlers that quickly goes off the rails. Meanwhile, Malcolm’s ghostwriting gig takes a surprising turn when Tina encourages him to dive into reality TV for inspiration – sparking an unexpected obsession.
DMV - "Stick Shift" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Ceci accuses Colette of only being kind for the credit, Colette anonymously gives Noa the perfect gift.
St. Denis Medical - "Get Me in the Pod, Brother" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex and Ron spar over the wisdom of open communication; Joyce brings in a body scanner that proves overly distracting.
The Paper - "Pilot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover the historic Toledo Truth Teller, a Midwestern newspaper, and its publisher's efforts to revive it.
TV We Love - "Happy Days" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The cast and creators of "Happy Days" reflect on its pop culture legacy.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)
Monday, November 10
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Watch George on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Landman on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Aaron Tveit (Schmigadoon!) - Aaron is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Chris is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers talk about Very Jonas Christmas Movie on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Ginnifer Goodwin (Pivoting) - Ginnifer talks about Zootopia 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- 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. She tells Drew about the upcoming second season of Palm Royale and making it work long distance with partner Sam Rockwell while shooting The White Lotus in Thailand on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn talks about his new book Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond - Phil is cooking something delicious with Drew in the kitchen from his latest cookbook and telling her about the diner he's opening on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Marilu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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