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
Thursday, December 18
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Payback and a Partial Shebang" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s feud with a rival store threatens his partnership with Ruben. Meanwhile, Mandy finds out Georgie’s been keeping secrets from her.
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Miami Beach and a Magical Family Christmas" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Georgie and Mandy struggle to balance work, family and the holidays when Audrey plans an unexpected Christmas vacation.
Ghosts - "It's a Wonderful Christmas Carol: Part One" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Sam’s big Christmas Eve TV interview with Walter Storm (Larry Wilmore) takes an unexpected turn. Meanwhile, Trevor and Patience bond over their mutual disinterest in celebrating Christmas.
Ghosts - "It's a Wonderful Christmas Carol: Part Two" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Sam gets a glimpse of what her life would be like if she could never see the ghosts.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)
Thursday, December 18
- Paul Shaffer (A Year at the Top) - Paul appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - THE LATE SHOW Presents: "Colbert's Canceled Christmas: The Last Noel", narrated by Nick on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Fran Drescher (Indebted/Happily Divorced/Living with Fran/The Nanny/Princesses) - Fran is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil talks about What's in the Box? on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - NBC's Today catches up with Tisha in the 10am hour.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee tells Drew about her upcoming new movie Ella McCay on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Matthew Lawrence (Gimme a Break!/Drexell's Class/Walter & Emily/Brotherly Love/Boy Meets World) - Matthew appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:30am.
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 (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
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 (DVD)
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 (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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