TVSquad

Are you kidding me? In a bold new way, ABC has come up with a way to keep viewers from fast-forwarding through the commercials! Okay, it's only in the video-on-demand universe (VOD), but it feels like what was once a convenient, fast way to catch up on episodes of your favorite shows is now going to be invaded with ads you cannot avoid unless you walk out of the room.

In a move they're touting as a win-win, ABC/Disney announced today an arrangement that "allows local affiliates to participate in the fast-forwarding disabled VOD offering." The network agrees to provide episodes of their top shows for use in local advertising supported VOD services as long as those operators agree to disable the "fast-forwarding" capability so viewers can't zap through the commercials. There'll be ads inserted, both local and national, but not as many as the on-air broadcasts of shows like Ugly Betty, Lost and Desperate Housewives.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Carol Bruce: She was well-known to TV audiences from a number of roles, including the mother of WKRP in Cincinnati's Mr. Carlson, as well as several appearances on Knot's Landing. She also appeared on The Twilight Zone (80s version), Studio One, Party of Five, Profiler, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Diff'rent Strokes, Perfect Strangers, General Hospital, as well as the movies Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, American Gigolo, and the Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying. She died of pulmonary disease at age 87 in Woodland Hills, CA.