Question: A few of weeks ago you stated that Jessica Biel won't be appearing in the series finale of 7th Heaven, but on Monday, USA Today reported that she will indeed reprise her role! I am trying to catch my breath at this amazing — and unexpected — news. Was this a last-minute decision by her?
Answer: It was so last-minute that Brenda Hampton had to rework the script, which originally had Carlos making two major announcements on Mary's behalf. Now she'll be able to deliver the big news in person.
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Question: With only seven episodes left of 7th Heaven, do you have any spoilers?
Answer: There will be a wedding, multiple baby announcements and, literally, a fat lady singing.
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Question: Is Jessica Biel coming back for the final episode of 7th Heaven?
Answer: No, but Mary will get a shout-out when her estranged hubby, Carlos, returns and drops a bombshell.
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Question: I was wondering what's happening to the family dramas. I used to watch all of them when they were on, but with 7th Heaven going off the air, The Book of Daniel being canceled, Once and Again long gone and American Dreams ending last year, there just aren't family dramas anymore. I miss them. Do you think it's because of the NCIS, CSI, Law & Order shows or because of reality TV? I just want good family dramas back!
Answer: I hear you, and I'm especially worried that with WB and UPN collapsing into CW, Everwood (my personal current fave in the family-drama category) will disappear, making the genre even more of an endangered species than it already is. It's not just that crime dramas and reality shows have taken over the network slots, which is true, but that the TV audience itself has fragmented over the years, with families watching less TV together as a unit; this may have dampened the ratings for some of these "family" shows. These dramas also tend to be harder to
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The fun (and confusion) never stops as the networks continue scrambling their schedules, with a new wave of mid-season changes kicking in the instant the Olympics and February sweeps conclude.
As a helpful guide to get you through the exhausting month of March, here's a night-by-night rundown of what to expect (until the next changes are announced):
March 1: After a 90-minute American Idol, Fox airs a preview of quasi-improvised slacker sitcom Free Ride (it will regularly air on Sundays starting March 12, replacing American Dad for a while). Invasion is preempted for the annual Oscar-themed Barbara Walters Special, which for the first time is not airing on Oscar night.
March 2:
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To hell with waiting for CW. WB has gone ahead and announced several mid-season schedule changes, including the oft-predicted relocation of Supernatural to Thursdays at 9 pm/ET, where it will follow Smallville (beginning Mar. 16). Other moves: Everwood resurfaces on Mar. 20 with a two-hour episode before returning to its original Mondays-after-7th Heaven time slot; the new sex-obsessed drama The Bedford Diaries will debut on Mar. 22 at 9 pm, following One Tree Hill; and Rebecca Romijn's Pepper Dennis will premiere Apr. 4 at 9 pm, after Gilmore Girls.
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To hell with waiting for CW. WB has gone ahead and announced several midseason schedule changes, including the oft-predicted relocation of Supernatural to Thursdays at 9 pm/ET, where it will follow Smallville (beginning March 16). Other moves: Everwood resurfaces March 20 with a two-hour episode before returning to its original Mondays-after-7th Heaven time slot; the new sex-obsessed drama The Bedford Diaries will debut March 22 at 9 pm, following One Tree Hill; and Rebecca Romijn's Pepper Dennis will premiere April 4 at 9 pm, after Gilmore Girls.
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The question has hovered over UPN and WB since both "weblets" launched in 1995: Is there room for both?
The resounding answer came, with no warning, Tuesday morning: no. Instead, UPN and WB will merge into a new entity, known as the CW (conventional wisdom? country western?), in the fall.
The business implications are beyond me to comment upon — as in: In markets like mine, where there is both a UPN and WB affiliate, which channel becomes CW and what happens to the other? — but there does seem to be some logic in the notion of merging the best of both networks' schedules to create a truly viable fifth broadcast network with higher market penetration.
It's way too early to know for sure which UPN and WB shows will survive and how they'll be programmed to fill the six-night, 13-hour schedule (patterned on WB's). But if I had to put together a CW schedule from what exists now, keeping in mind that there will likely be new shows in the fall from the developme
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Question: Please, no 7th Heaven spin-off with Lucy and Kevin. That sounds like 7th Heaven: The Next Generation. The most interesting concept for a spin-off would be one that follows Martin as he tries to break in to the big leagues. They could spin it in the direction of Felicity and make the show about Martin trying to make it on his own and discover who he is while avoiding the temptation of steroids and being a dutiful father to his child. Eventually his baseball career would go bust and he could study sports journalism at Simon's school.
Answer: You know, this is the first good idea I've heard regarding life after 7th Heaven. It goes the Frasier route in taking a character who was important to the parent show (in that case, Cheers) but not from the core original cast and telling a completely different story, though with the same basic values. Only problem here is that series with sports themes have had a terrible time of it, the horrific One Tree Hill notwithstanding. But Martin
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Question: In reviewing the series that are going off the air this year, you mention that a 7th Heaven spin-off is likely, which left me wondering, with whom? I've watched the show sporadically but can't imagine wanting to focus in on any of the characters except maybe Ruthie and Martin, who are the only ones who hold any interest for me. Both parents make me want to cringe, Lucy makes me mute the TV (although I like her husband), and Simon and Rose are awful. Who could carry a spin-off?
Answer: I'm not sure any of these characters can actually carry a show, and I'm not convinced they should. I just noted the fact that, as we have reported in the magazine and elsewhere, WB may not be willing to let the entire franchise slip away just because the 10-year-old mother ship is going away. If I had to guess, I'd bet a show could be spun around Lucy and her husband, since she's a minister and we could follow her (with frequent visits by family) to a new church. But Beverley Mitchell as a lead
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