TVSquad

I'm a little worried about ABC's thinking behind this latest move. As announced, the remake of the classic '80s mini-series V will launch on November 4th. But now, after four consecutive episodes, it's going on an extended hiatus. The reason, per ABC, is the expected ratings dominance of the Winter Olympics.

And though they're announcing the hiatus, they've not yet said when we can expect the show to come back. I hope this doesn't mean there are more problems on the set, like the one that shut down production for two weeks this summer. Regardless of the reason, we've seen countless times that long hiatuses on a new show can kill it.

However, if you think of the original V, it was a couple of mini-series followed by a regular series (best forgotten). So maybe these first four episodes will be written and set up like an epic mini-series with a bang-up ending that will sustain us through the break. I hope it's like that, otherwise they should just push back the entire series to 2010.

No, it's not another lamentation about those overlooked shows that really do deserve a DVD set, but just can't seem to get them. I've grown accustomed to having Bob's weekly DVD release post arrive like a slap in the face as Beggars and Choosers is not on it, again. Instead, this is about those shows that do get their DVD set, but are late for no good reason at all. At least, not one that I can come up with.

I started thinking about it last week as I was talking with a friend and we were watching the Hellboy/Chuck promo. She commented that she really should start watching Chuck. In full agreement, I quickly pointed her to the Chuck page on Hulu. But wait, there are only three episodes available on Hulu. I guessed that it must be because they don't want streaming to cannibalize DVD sales. So I headed to Amazon. Chuck isn't out on DVD until September 16th. What the hell?

As the WGA strike continues, it's not only Letterman and Leno who won't be getting paid. Many shows are already in hiatus or laying off staffers due to production shutdowns.

Show fans are searching high and low trying to find out the status of their favorite shows. Search no more. I researched the web and have compiled the most complete list I can at this time to let you know where your favorite show stands.

Remember all that stuff about Six Degrees coming back? Never mind! ABC has pulled the show yet again. The show returned recently on Friday nights (which was a big surprise in itself), but almost no one watched. The show got terrible ratings. The move takes effect immediately. Something tells me this isn't a good sign for a second season.

So we have The Black Donnellys being pulled in favor of a reality show (The Real Wedding Crashers), and you're probably wondering what will replace Six Degrees in the time slot? That's right, a reality show! But this one is even more hard to take: they're replacing it with reruns of Wife Swap. Gah!

In other shows-going-on-hiatus news, David E. Kelley's The Wedding Bells has stopped production, though the remaining episodes will probably air. But don't hold your breath for a renewal.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the SciFi channel will be moving Battlestar Galactica from Fridays to Sundays, starting when it comes back from its hiatus on January 21. The show will air at 10 PM ET. This was a move that had been in the rumor mill for a while, so it's not completely unexpected.

(FYI: Keith called his contact at NBC Universal and they confirmed the move. So it's official.)

Of course, they could be moving the show because of the lower ratings it has been getting compared to last year. But Sunday might be a good night for BSG, since the competition (like Brothers & Sisters) doesn't exactly attract the same fan base. It's a move that's not unprecedented; The X-Files established itself with its sci-fi core audience on Fridays before FOX moved it to Sundays and a bigger audience.

[via The TV Addict]

Entertainment Weekly's web site is reporting that ABC is pulling the troubled show Six Degrees from the schedule for the remainder of November and all of December.

The series, produced by J.J. Abrams, has been in trouble ever since its premiere in the post-Grey's Anatomy slot on Thursday nights, losing over half of it's lead-in's audience. To date, the show has been averaging 9.6 million viewers, which puts it 45th amongst prime-time shows. It has also received a critical drubbing, with many critics calling it boring and self-indulgent. No word on when or if the show will come back to the schedule, or what will replace it in its current timeslot.

This just goes to show that you don't lose half the audience of the number-one show on TV and survive very long, no matter who is producing your show. ABC may have given it a longer leash because of the Abrams pedigree, but the bad ratings were too much for it to ignore.

(UPDATE: According to Variety, ABC will put Men In Trees in the Thursday at 10 timeslot, starting November 30. It has also given Trees a full-season order.)

CBS knows what it has with Jericho; a hit serialized drama that has been building momentum week after week. But it also knows the risks having such a hit show brings with it; it's not a very rerunable show, and airing too many repeats in a row might kill the show's momentum. So CBS has decided to go the route that ABC did with Lost (and NBC wanted to do with ER until the show's ratings went up) and will put the show on a ten-week hiatus after it's "fall season" finale on November 29.

In order to bridge the gap, CBS will provide exclusive Jericho content online, and continue to stream the previously-aired episodes on their broadband video site inntertube. New episodes will come back in February.

During Jericho's break, the show's Wednesday at 8 slot will be filled by new episodes of The King of Queens through the end of the year and another yet-to-be-announced program in January. The full press release is after the jump.

'Til Death will stay off the air for an extra week after the World Series because star Brad Garrett is holding up production. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Garrett was very unhappy with the latest script. That's actually a good reason to postpone a show... to make the script better. Unfortunately for Brad, it might not matter that much. The show is taking a beating on Thursday nights against Survivor and Ugly Betty. It'll be interesting to see that episode when it does get made, to see what Garrett considers a 'good' script.

And here we go. If you work on a network television series, one of the worst things you can hear is that your show is going 'on hiatus'. Sure, every once in a while that just means that the show is taking a little break. But more often than not it's the PC way for executives to tell you that the ratings numbers suck out loud and you need to start looking for a new gig.

With that in mind, Fox has placed Justice and Happy Hour on an early hiatus. Early because it was expected that most of the network's shows would get a little break when the baseball playoffs take over the schedule. But Happy Hour and Justice will be starting their break early, being replaced by repeats of 'Til Death and House.

Right now, the Fox website says that Happy Hour will return Nov.2, with no word on when Justice is supposed to resume. Of course, this makes the TV Squad contest to pick the first show to get canceled a whole big ball of fun. We'll have to wait and see if these shows are officially canceled. Stay tuned.

[ Thanks Porchalnd ]

Don't worry, they're not cancelling Monk. Remember, we've got at least one more season after this one. However, you won't be seeing any new episodes until early March, thanks to the Winter Olympics. So instead of watching an obsessive compulsive genius solve crimes you can watch fun sporting events like full contact figure skating, three-legged downhill skiing, polar bear mocking, and whatever the hell else they do during the Winter Olympics. If you are jonesing for a Monk fix, USA's site for the show has some webisodes and character blogs. Yeah, I know, it's not much, but you have to take what you can get sometimes.