Joan Van Ark, who left "Knots Landing" after last season, has returned to the show.
But Valene Ewing, the character she portrayed on the show for 13 seasons - and on "Dallas" before that - is not coming back. At least not now.Van Ark is directing an episode of the long-running prime-time soap this week. It will air sometime later this season.
However, her character, Val, was killed in a car accident last week and there's a memorial service planned for tonight's episode (9 p.m., Ch. 5).
This would seem to be the first time since Bobby Ewing bit the dust on "Dallas" that a prime-time soap has killed off a major character. And we all know how that ended up - with Bobby stepping out of the shower after an entire season of "Dallas" was declared a dream.
But the producers of "Knots" have left an opening for Val to come back at a later date. The body believed to be hers was burned beyond recognition in that car accident. (And that wasn't Van Ark in the car, anyway.)
So, it's possible. The greatest hindrance to Val's return would seem to be the impending demise of the series itself. The ratings aren't bad, but after all these years - and all those annual pay raises - it's terribly expensive to make. CBS pays a higher license fee for "Knots Landing" than for any other series it broadcasts.
So, if Val's going to return from the dead, she'd better do it quick.
And don't hold your breath.
WHAT'S IN A NAME: The apparent demise of Van Ark's character cost TV a character with a name you just have to love.
Val, you see, married her first husband, divorced him; remarried him, re-divorced him; married another guy who was apparently killed in Central America; married another guy, divorced him; and remarried her first husband yet again.
All of which left her with this for a name - Valene Clemmons Ewing Ewing Gibson Waleska Ewing.
Aren't soap operas a hoot?
STILL UNMARRIED: After all that hype about the Thanksgiving wedding of Hayden and Christine on "Coach," viewers tuned in last week to see - another post-pone-ment.
Christine (Shelley Fabares) slipped and broke her leg, canceling the ceremony. (And, no, television critics were not alerted to the fact that the wedding would be a bust in advance.)
This may go down as the longest engagement in the history of television.
Executive producer Barry Kemp told USA Today that Hayden (Craig T. Nelson) and Christine will get married before the season is over but that it will come as a surprise - there will be no advance publicity about the wedding.
In other words, we'll all have to just wait and see.
GOOD SHIFT: The producers of "Coach" are a lot happier than they thought they'd be after losing their post-"Roseanne" time slot.
They got the slot right after "Home Improvement."
"Roseanne" is top-rated show to date this season. But "Improvement" is also a big hit at No. 8. ("Coach," riding on "Roseanne's" coattails, is currently No. 4.)
And, if last week is any indication, "Coach" won't suffer much because of the shift. It was No. 7 for the week, just behind "Home Improvement" at No. 5.
Not to mention that "Home Improvement" and "Coach" make for a much better hour of television than "Roseanne" and "The Jackie Thomas Show."
MORE `CHEERS'? Although this has been semitrumpeted as the final season for the NBC sitcom "Cheers," there are rumors floating around that the show may return for a 12th season next year.
It's time for someone to say this:
Enough is enough.
"Cheers" is already showing a marked decline in quality. It's old, it's tired and it just isn't as good as it used to be.
Yes, it's still better than most of its competition. But why not call it quits before the quality declines still further?