Radio Recap, August 6, 2008

It's time for a RADIO RECAP
"Must Hear TV" on "The Frank DeCaro Show" on Sirius OutQ 109
Wednesdays, 1-2 PM


In news from today's "Must-Hear TV" report...

• SciFi Network announced that it's running Stargate Atlantis into this fall, using the series as a lead in to its new show: Sanctuary, which stars Stargate alumna Amanda Tapping.
  
  Starting August 15, Stargate Atlantis repeats will air on Fridays at 9, followed by an original episode at 10. Then, on Friday October 3, Sanctuary premieres in that time slot (9 PM); Stargate resumes airing at 9 on October 10, with Sanctuary sliding back to 10 PM. Got all that?

• In other SciFi news, its series Eureka started season 3 with great ratings, finishing the day as the #1 show on cable for adults 25-54. With 2.8 million total viewers, the show scored its highest numbers since its series premiere on July 18, 2006.

• And in even more SciFi news: Battlestar Galactica executive producer Dave Eick told the geeks crowd at ComicCon last month that the series' remaining episodes (so far, we know 10 are planned) will have to be extra long, in order to wrap up all the show's remaining plotlines and story arcs. It's not clear whether the remaining weeks of Battlestar will be artificially "super-sized," a la NBC, or just extended for some episodes to two hours instead of one. Stay tuned!

And you callers wanted to know:

• Brian in Toledo asked why there are no sitcoms with fantasy elements on the air anymore, like The Munsters, The Addams Family or Alf. I'd say that's just because those types of shows tend to pop up in clusters -- when one works or seems to have buzz, others follow. (The Munsters and The Addams Family, as Frank pointed out, both debuted and were cancelled within weeks of each other!) I'd cite Third Rock from the Sun as a good recent example from the '90s. But you're right -- the abject failure of Cavemen may keep "high concept" sitcoms out of vogue for quite a while to come.

• Greg in Michigan wanted to know if there are any shows coming this fall with gay themes, a la Will & Grace (or even the gayest show ever, Ugly Betty.) Other than the L Word spinoff, which won't be here for a while, I don't know of any which will be that gay. But I do know that a few new series will be showcasing gay characters. Stay tuned to this blog for interviews with Chris Diamantopoulos, who plays Debra Messing's character's gay BFF Rodney on USA's series version of The Starter Wife starting in October, and with gay writer Abraham Higginbotham, whose sitcom Do Not Disturb starts on Fox in early September, complete with the hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson playing a gay hotel worker.

• Tom in Miami asked about the status of the rumored Noah's Arc movie. Well, Tom, it's a rumor no more -- click here on afterelton.com for a video of the show's creator Patrik-Ian Polk and star Darryl Stephens talking all about Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom.

And to answer your DVD questions:

• Tom in Miami: Gimme a Break season 1 was released on 2/14/06. Season 2 so far seems to be available only in Canada. Maybe they just like Nell Carter better than we do.

• Jim in OK: The Waltons is up to season 7 on DVD, which was released on April 29 of this year. So, only 2 more seasons to go for your collection.

• Jeremiah in Denver: all 4 seasons of Knight Rider have been out on DVD for a few years now. Just in time for you to catch NBC's remake this fall.

• Mark in FL: So far, the only way you can get the 1967-78 The Carol Burnett Show on DVD (other than the 2004 special Let's Bump Up The Lights or the 2002 reunion special/retrospective Showstoppers) is to order it by subscription from Guthy-Renker, at 1-800-720-3311. I doubt we'll ever see a major consumer release of every one of the show's 11 (!) seasons.

• Nikki in IL: Sorry, but China Beach is still not released. You're not alone in asking for it, though. In fact, you can click here to sign the petition to bring the show to DVD. (As Frank pointed out, for a while there, you could catch airings of the show on the American Life Network -- but no more).

• Greg in Minneapolis: You're not alone in your frustration, either, about the haphazard way Fox has been releasing seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. There was a huge gap of time between seasons 1 and 2 (almost 3 years), while the studio pondered whether to release further years at all. Now, since season 4 came out in 2006, they seem stalled again. Click here to sign the petition to get season 5!

Well that's it for me -- my theme music is playing me out.

Tune in next Wednesday for the next installment of...

"Must Hear TV!