90210

The US 2012/2013 television ratings season returns Monday September 24, 2012. As the new season nears, here is the Throng guide to US premiere dates and when these shows are likely to air in Australia. Continue reading »

ELEVEN programming for the week commencing August 28 sees Smallville back in the schedule, the final two episodes of 90210’s first season played out and the season finale of The Biggest Loser US.

Back at 10.40pm on Sunday August 28 is Smallville with a new episode “Charade”. It follows the network premiere movie Waitress. Angel is at 11.30pm, Sabrina 12.30am.

On Monday August 29 from 8.30pm, is The Simpsons For Grown Ups which features two episodes heavier than usual with adult themes (thankfully the use of the term “Adults Only” is lost) – Marge and Home Turn a Couple Play and The Three Gays of The Condo. Being Human continues 9.30pm.

Tuesday night has the regular new episode of The Office at 8.30pm followed by a repeat. Wilfred is at 9.30pm.

New episodes of The Cleveland show return to ELEVEN at 9.30pm from Wednesday August 31. New Futurama continues at 8pm Wednesdays.

On Thursday night, Stargate Universe is down to the last episodes of the series. Wonder what will replace it on Thursday nighs is a few weeks’ time?

Saturday night September 3 has the season finale of The Biggest Loser US from 8.30pm, followed by the final two episodes of season one of 90210 from 10.30pm. 90210 was out of the schedule for a few weeks. Look out for a whole new Saturday night line up on ELEVEN from September 10.

Desperate Housewives to end next year

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry has confirmed that the series will end next year. Cherry says the drama series will conclude after its eighth season.

Wilde to play minimal role in House

House creator David Shore has confirmed that actress Olivia Wilde will play a minimal role in the eighth season of the medical drama. Wilde, who plays Dr. Remy ‘Thirteen’ Hadley, had a limited role in the seventh season also due to film commitments.

Lawrence close to TV return

Martin Lawrence is reportedly close to landing a starring role in a new sitcom for CBS in the US. The comedian made a name for himself on the small screen in the ‘80s sitcom What’s Happening Now!!.

Brandy to guest on 90210

R&B musician Brandy has landed a major arc in the fourth season of 90210. The singer recently made a guest appearance in Drop Dead Diva.

Awards for Modern Family, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights

Modern Family, Friday Night Lights and Mad Men were the big winners at the recent Television Critics Association Awards held over the weekend in LA. Modern Family won the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Comedy’ award while Mad Men claimed the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Drama’ title. Friday Night Lights was named ‘Programme of the Year’.

A number of changes to the ELEVEN line up from next week.

On Sunday nights, as of August 7, Smallville has been dropped, in favour for repeats of Angel, which move forward from midnight to air around 11.00pm after the Sunday night movie. Rosanne and Sabrina The Teenage Witch follow. On Sunday August 14, Angel airs at 10.40, with Cheers at 11.40, then Rosanne after midnight.

To Saturday nights, and plans to show a massive four hours of The Biggest Loser (US) (honestly, too much for even the hard core fans) from Saturday August 13 have been scrapped. Buffy The Vampire Slayer now will air at 10.30pm, followed by Cheers at 11.30, Rosanne at 12 and Sabrina at 12.30.

As a result of the change to Saturday night, 90210 again disappears from the schedule, with only a handful of episodes to go in the first season. So far, it is still scheduled for this Saturday August 6.

Futurama – there will be a new episode on Tuesday August 9 at 8pm, with the Wednesday night episodes reverting to repeats. That is the last new episode to air in the foreseeable future.

Supernatural – the season 6 finale airs Monday August 15, at 8.30pm.

Doctor Who renewed

Doctor Who has been renewed for a seventh season with Matt Smith returning as the Doctor. A BBC exec confirmed the news via Twitter, saying: “Doctor Who is returning. Fourteen new episodes have been commissioned with Matt Smith as The Doctor.”

Sheen ineligible for Emmys

Charlie Sheen will be ineligible for any awards at this year’s Emmys after failing to submit his name for consideration. The four-time nominee was given several opportunities to submit and even an extension but failed to do so on time.

Kevin Smith devloping reality series

Clerks director Kevin Smith is developing a reality series for the AMC network in the US. A casting call has been sent out for “real people who live and breathe the comic book lifestyle”.

Donovan departing 90210

Trevor Donovan has announced his departure from 90210, confirming he will only return for five episodes in the show’s fourth season.

FA Cup Final, 10.30pm SBS ONE

Live from Wembley Stadium in London, Stoke City and Manchester City will play it out to see who will be the champion side this historic season. This is the Blues (Manchester) first time in the final for 30 years (Man United have taken care of the locals though). But in the 148 year history, this is the Potters (Stoke) first time EVER in a final. Even if your team isn’t in the final, or you don’t even follow this great game, it will still be an event to watch.

Get Smart, 7.30pm Nine

This movie version of the cult TV classic is actually better than expected. Maxwell Smart is in admin at CONTROL H.Q. when it’s attacked, so The Chief (Alan Arkin) teams him up with Agent 99 to get the bad guys. What follows is often slapstick, but still clever and a light Saturday night bit of fun, mainly due to the outstanding cast. Steve Carrell (The Office) and Anne Hathaway star as the two agents while there is a support cast of James Caan (Las Vegas), Masi Oka (Heroes) and Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement).

Darwin’s Brave New World, 8.30pm History

Originally shown on ABC, this three part series dramatizes Darwin’s 30 year struggle to piece together the mystifying puzzle, that he saw in nature. Starting with “Origins” this week and followed by “Evolutions” next Saturday and with the final episode shown on the 28^th of May with “Publish and Be Damned”. Starring Wendy Hughes as the narrator and featuring such talents as Socratis Otto (Home and Away), Paul Gleeson (Spirited) and Simon Bossell (Packed to The Rafters).

90210, 10.30pm ELEVEN

Kelly arrives back in Beverly Hills and reveals to Silver what happened between her and Dylan during her trip. On Annie’s 16th birthday, Naomi sees her kissing Ethan and decides to get back at her by inviting Annie’s old boyfriend, Jason, to her birthday party hoping it will break up her and Ethan, who continue to debate over keeping their blossoming romance a secret… unaware that everyone around them already knows. Meanwhile, Adrianna has dinner with Navid and his large Iranian family and she also finds out that Navid is a virgin. At the end, the big twist comes when Harry’s 22-year-old illegitimate son, Sean, visits the Wilson family for the first time during Annie’s party.

True Stories: The Silence Of The Lambs, 11.40pm ABC2

This episode examines the two killers from the Oscar winning movie, The Silence Of The Lambs. It shows how Thomas Harris’ creations of “Buffalo Bill” and the cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal Lecter came straight from case files. Truly fascinating for any movie buff or just a juicy piece of viewing.

TV guide for ELEVEN, updated March 11th, 2011

90210 on Saturday nights (why not afternoons), after the 8.30pm movie, from April 2.

Prime time (see end of post for day time and late night / early morning regular programming):

Sundays
6.00 Family Ties
6.30 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.30 New Zealands Next Top Model – Cycle 2
8.30 movie
10.30 Smallville S8
11.30 Smallville S8
12.30 Sabrina then usual overnight programming

Monday – Friday 6.00 – 7.30pm
6.00 Sabrina the Teenage Witch. 6.25 Couch Time
6.30 Neighbours
7.00 Everybody Love Raymond

Mondays
7.30 Futurama
8.00 Futurama
8.30 Supernatural NEW S5
9.30 Dexter S4
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Tuesdays
7.30 The Simpsons
8.00 Futurama
8.30 Raising Hope
9.00 The Office NEW
9.30 Nurse Jackie S2
10.05 Californication NEW S4
10.40 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Wednesdays
7.30 The All New Simpsons
8.00 Futurama New
8.30 The Simpsons
9.00 The Cleveland Show
9.30 Bob’s Burgers
10.00 King of the Hill
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Thursdays
7.30 The Simpsons
8.00 The Simpsons
8.30 Stargate Universe
9.30 Star Trek – Next Generation
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Fridays
7.30 So You Think You Can Dance (US)
9.20 Sex and the City
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Saturdays
6.00 Family Ties
6.30 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.30 Frasier
8.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
8.30 Movie
10.30 Angel March 12, 19, 26.
10.30 90210 from Sat April 2.
11.30 Cheers, Rosanne then usual overnight programming

Daily: Late night / early morning
11.30pm Cheers
12.00am Rosanne
12.30 Sabrina the Teenage Witch
1.00 Mork and Mindy
1.30 Happy Days
2.00 The Love Boat
3.00 Diagnosis Murder
4.00 Touched by an Angel
5.00 7th Heaven

Daily: Mornings and day time
6.00am Jag
7.00 Macgyver
8.00 The Brady Bunch
8.30 Weekdays Neighbours encore from previous weeknight
8.30 Everybody Loves Raymond Sat and Sun
9.00 Touched by an Angel
10.00 7th Heaven
11.00 The Love Boat
12.00pm Diagnosis Murder
1.00 Jag
2.00 Macgyver
3.00 Cheers
3.30 Rosanne. 3.55 Couch Time
4.00 Family Ties
4.30 Mork and Mindy. 4.55 Couch Time
5.00 Happy Days
5.30 The Brady Bunch. 5.55 Couch Time

Programming subject to change.

This from the Facebook page of ELEVEN:

Hi guys, just a quick note about 90210 -

90210 is an awesome show that we love, however, we haven’t found the right audience in the timeslot it was in.

We have removed it from our schedule temporarily until we find a home for it.

…However, we’d love your feedback, so feel free to send your thoughts on this to us at: http://bit.ly/e42jXd

- The Channel Eleven Crew.

 

This has to be the best example of communicating a programming change I have ever seen from an Australian commercial TV channel or network.

GO! could certainly take a page out of ELEVEN’s book here. The GO Facebook page is full of fans asking when Pretty Little Liars and Hellcats will air again. None of them have been answered.

We understand programming is generally only really locked in for 2-3 weeks in advance – and an exact date for future airing of shows may not yet be confirmed – but at least the comment ELEVEN uses covers the fact that 1) the show has been taken off for now due to not having the ratings they would like aka “wrong timeslot” and 2) it will be back at another time.

With the number of programming changes GO makes, it is time they start explaining them to their fans, or risk loosing them for good.

Just as I was praising how stable the programming was for ELEVEN in comparison to GO in another post, here comes some changes to the ELEVEN schedule, affecting Friday and Saturday nights from next week (Feb 4 and Feb 5).

On Friday night, 90210 has been dumped from the schedule. It was previously dumped from Ten a few years ago, after not achieving ratings to justify its timeslot.

With 90210 though, it was one of the promised titles for new channel ELEVEN. It was one of the many ex-Ten shows that were promised a time, place and new home on ELEVEN. Perhaps the problem is, that the core audience were not there at Friday 7.30pm – or the show is now been out for so long, that the real fans have already seen it by other means? Here is another example of a show where the timeslot perhaps was not thought out very well. Not to mention the fact, that the episodes shown on ELEVEN so far have already previously aired on Ten. Might have been more interest once they reached the first run episodes.

What ELEVEN should do is move 90210 to an afternoon weekend timeslot. Just like GO should do with Hellcats. It won’t make any difference to ratings results, but it will give people the chance to see the show if they chose to.

Moving on… the removing of 90210 means So You Think You Can Dance will now start at 7.30pm, from Fri Feb 4, and at 9.20pm Fridays, will be double episodes of Sex and the City, played from the beginning.

The new Friday line up on ELEVEN, from Feb 4, is:

7.30pm So You Think You Can Dace (US)
9.20pm Sex and the City ep 1
9.55pm Sex And The City ep 2

7.30PM FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 

THE JET SET Season 1, Episode 2 

Scream with joy 90210 fans, the wait is over! After 14 years, Beverly Hills 90210 originals Brenda Walsh (played Shannen Doherty) and Kelly Taylor (played by Jennie Garth) reunite in tonight’s star studded episode. They catch up on a decade and a half’s worth of goss over lunch at the Peach Pit, where original Peach Pit owner Nat (guest star Joe E. Tata) joins them for a reunion. 

Later, Dixon impresses his peers when he helps them play a prank on a rival lacrosse team, Silver posts a video on her blog revealing that Ethan cheated on Naomi, and Annie misses the deadline to audition for the spring musical. But sparks y when she meets the leading actor Ty, one of the most popular students on campus. Ty impresses Annie by ying her to San Francisco for dinner in his private jet, but Annie fails to mention her plans to her parents.