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« Roush Dispatch
Mid-season Madness: Where Will It End?
You could get whiplash trying to keep track of shows’ comings and goings during a network mid-season as chaotic and badly managed as this one is turning out to be. Some thoughts about the latest news, much of which surfaced in the trades and some of which has yet to be confirmed by the networks:
First, the no-brainer: 7th Heaven is officially being laid to rest. Again. The family-friendly drama, which was brought back from cancellation a year ago when the new CW decided it needed to launch with as many familiar franchises as possible, is now gearing up to say goodbye to the Camdens once more, when the 11th season wraps May 13. This was hardly unexpected. The show went decidedly under the radar when the CW moved it from Mondays to Sundays, where it was stranded amid a sea of repeats and second-runs of shows like America’s Next Top Model. It was time to go a year ago. This is just sad.
Now on to this spring’s roster of mid-season losers. Hope you didn’t get too attached to NBC’s painful mob mess The Black Donnellys or Fox’s romantic-comedy train wreck The Wedding Bells, because both are toast. Though it’s a little fuzzy how many more episodes will air of either, Bells will likely host its last ceremony this Friday. The Black Donnellys may stay in place through April 16, but after that, nada. On April 23, the night Heroes finally returns with new episodes, the 10 pm/ET time slot will be filled by The Real Wedding Crashers, a reality-prank series from the folks who brought you Punk’d. Way to waste a powerful lead-in, by the way. Couldn’t NBC have used the return of Heroes to try to bolster a show like Medium, which has been wasted on Wednesdays this season and deserves a chance to return to its original night? (It’s rather apparent by now that NBC is keeping Studio 60 off the air until summer, if then, so its return to Mondays wasn’t even an option.) What a mess.
Speaking of messes, nothing quite matches ABC’s scheduling. There’s yet another wrinkle in the ongoing saga of Thursdays at 10, that hotly contested time period following Grey’s Anatomy. Last time I weighed in on this, we had just learned that the pregnancy sitcom Notes from the Underbelly would be airing back-to-back episodes in the post-Grey’s time slot for several weeks. Not so fast. Now, after a one-night two-episode tryout on April 12, Underbelly will move to Wednesdays at 8:30, following According to Jim. Got that? No? I don’t blame you. The vomitous October Road will now air the final two episodes of its six-week tryout on April 19 and 26. Does this mean Men in Trees, the odd (and best) show out in all of this foolishness, will get to return to the Thursday slot in May? No word yet that I’ve seen, but if I see an update, I’ll be sure to post one. After all, I still feel like a fool for having celebrated the fact, a mere week ago, that ABC had scheduled Men in Trees’ return for April, before all of this other nonsense intervened.
Oh, and Six Degrees? Six feet under, again, after just two episodes on Fridays, where it was being burned off and thoroughly ignored by the public at large. (Look for Wife Swap repeats in its place. Or better yet, don’t.)
Stay tuned for more mid-season fun, because we’re only three days into April. Who knows what's lurking around the corner?
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Apr 3, 2007 11:43 AM
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I liked Six Degrees - guess maybe I am the only one. Was liking it even better now that it was more into the relationships of everyone. How do they expect anything to get a following after only 2 weeks. I just hope they show the rest of them on the web.
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Apr 3, 2007 12:04 PM
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I too was a big fan of Six Degrees and Black Donnelly's - this sucks!!!
With limited programming available for Fridays - why are networks not being more patient?
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Apr 3, 2007 12:30 PM
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"The vomitous October Road "
OMG that cracked me up!
I'm just ticked I didn't think to call it that.
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Apr 3, 2007 12:31 PM
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The Black Donnellys is a great show. I don't know what NBC is thinking putting Wedding Crashers in that spot. Is there any chance that Donnellys could get picked up by FX or TNT?
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Apr 3, 2007 12:54 PM
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Why are march and april the 'mis-season' when most shows end in may? Shouldn't dec and jan be the mid-season? Or is just named wrong?
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Apr 3, 2007 12:57 PM
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Seriously, just bring back the actual quality shows! I know it's expensive to do more episodes, but how much $$ is now wasted on episodes not even aired?
Re: "vomitous" - I haven't even watched October Road (on your recommendation, or lack thereof), but I think I love you.
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Apr 3, 2007 1:18 PM
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I really really hope that Men in Trees returns to its deserved timeslot and very soon. I am afraid ABC ends up destroying this show due it's own stupidity.
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Apr 3, 2007 2:08 PM
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And then they wonder why audiences don't find shows or desert them in droves. Who can keep up with this? They're shooting themselves in the foot.
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Apr 3, 2007 2:10 PM
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I think it is both humorous and ironic that instead of bringing back Studio 60 now that its timeslot replacement has completely bombed, NBC is trying a particularly inane-sounding reality show in its place. The only way it could be any more on-the-nose is if Real Wedding Crashers is a hit.
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Apr 3, 2007 2:12 PM
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While hilarious, vomitous is actually an apt description of that show. I could only watch about 20 minutes of it before I started to feel queasy. I'd love to see them put the show somewhere on its own and see how it does. It's not fair that trash like that gets to barnacle off of the ratings of a hit show.
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Apr 3, 2007 2:29 PM
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Some of must enjoy vomitous shows like October Road - me being one! I find the show much more refreshing than the likes of CSI Miami - or NY or even Criminal Minds or Cold Case or Close to Home. I guess I must be in the wrong here?
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Apr 3, 2007 4:36 PM
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I watch October Road as well. It is like a bad habit for me- I am glad they are airing 5 and 6-sorry!
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Apr 3, 2007 5:00 PM
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Matt you seem to have something against any show that takes "Men in Trees" place. The pilot for "Underbelly" was actually pretty good. My favorite ABC comedy pilot this season which I know isn't saying much.
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Apr 3, 2007 5:06 PM
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This Sunday night The Sopranos and Entourage return on HBO; how will the network execs react, and what will happen to the ratings?
The networks really made a mess of this year's programming. They introduced so many new TV shows that it was just impossible to test them all. "TV whiplash" was a great description! Most of the shows were awful, but a couple of stand-outs were easy to spot (ie Betty, Bros&Sisters).
Why does the industry seem in a panic? Why are they making snap decisions about shows remaining on the air, moving days, moving time slots, being cancelled, going on haitus? It's frustrating, and quite honestly, not worth it.
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Apr 3, 2007 5:22 PM
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