Well, "Homefront" fans, there is some cause for rejoicing.
This very good, underappreciated series will return to ABC's schedule next month in a much better time slot than the one it was recently forced to vacate.Instead of having to battle "Cheers" on Thursday nights, "Homefront" will return to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on March 9 - the time slot the series occupied throughout most of last season.
And it's the slot "Homefront" should have had this season, too. (Instead, the ABC programmers gave it a rotten time slot and then nearly pre-empted it to death.)
Seven new episodes of "Homefront" remain to be aired, and let's hope that ABC runs them consecutively to build an audience.
This is probably the show's last chance to prove it can attract an audience as it battles for a spot on next season's schedule.
INDY'S LATEST ADVENTURES: "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" will also return to ABC in March, but it has an even tougher task than "Homefront."
It will have to attract an audience on Saturday nights - something only one show (CBS' "Dr. Quinn") has really managed to do this season.
"Indiana" retuns with a two-hour episode on March 13 at 7 p.m., and the following week it will return to one-hour episodes in the 8 p.m. time slot.
To be perfectly honest, this expensive series doesn't stand much of a chance of doing any more than burning off its unaired episodes.
But if a large audience does tune in, it could be back. Just don't hold your breath.
NEW SHOWS: ABC will debut three new shows next month - two sitcoms and an hourlong drama.
- "Getting By," which debuts Friday, March 5, at 8 p.m., is an absolutely dreadful ripoff of "Kate & Allie."
It's brought to you by the producers of "Step By Step," the dreadful ripoff of "The Brady Bunch."
Cindy Williams ("Laverne & Shirley") and Telma Hopkins ("Family Matters") are a pair of divorced mothers who move in together, combining housekeeping and families. They deal with silly, saccharine situations in silly, saccharine ways.
It's enough to make a grownup gag.
- "Where I Live," which debuts Friday, March 5, at 8:30 p.m., is a surprisingly good half-hour headlined by Doug E. Doug ("Mo' Better Blues," "Class Act.")
Doug plays a 17-year-old growing up in a middle-class family in Harlem, where he spends a lot of time hanging out on the stoop with his friends.
The cast is bright and funny, and the writing is crisp, for the most part. It tends to be a bit too preachy and falls into an all-too-typical sitcom style at times, but shows promise of being a pretty good show.
- "Sirens," which premieres Wednesday, March 10, at 9 p.m., is about three rather attractive policewomen.
These three are just out of the police academy, and are adjusting to their new roles and the changes they force in their personal lives.
From the first couple of episodes, "Sirens" doesn't seem to be able to quite decide what it wants to be - serious drama or soap opera. The two don't always mix particularly well.
SWITCHING TIME SLOTS: ABC also announced it is moving several current series around the schedule - and several off the schedule.
"America's Funniest Home Videos" moves up an hour to Sundays at 7 p.m. as of March 7.
Also on March 7, "Dinosaurs" moves to Sundays at 7:30 p.m. from it current Friday night slot.
"Camp Wilder" will airs its final episode of the season on Feb. 26. It's a candidate to return in the fall but is by no means a sure thing.
"Civil Wars" airs its final episode of the season on March 2 and is considered doubtful to be picked up for next season.
"America's Funniest People" is going on hiatus after its Feb. 28 airing, but will be back on the schedule - somewhere - with new episodes in May.
"Life Goes On" will air its final two episodes on consecutive Saturdays - March 20 and 27 - at 7 p.m. This is widely reported to be the final season for that show.
SAY IT ISN'T SO!: Speaking of ABC, the network has apparently bowed to Roseanne pressure and ordered an additional four episodes of "The Jackie Thomas Show," bringing the total for this season to 18.
"Thomas," which stars Roseanne's husband, Tom Arnold, is a top-10 show, but that's largely - if not entirely - attributable to the fact that it airs after "Roseanne." And it has been losing a larger and larger share of the audience it inherits from its lead-in.
Not to mention the fact that its pretty darn bad.
CARTER HITS IT BIG: Richard Carter, standup comedian and former Deseret News staffer, is about to make it big.
He's scheduled to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" next week - Friday, Feb. 12.
Carter, 73, turned to standup comedy after he retired from the DesNews art department, where he worked for 33 years. His act revolves around getting older - the same topic he addressed in his book, "The Golden Years Are a Crock."
(And according to staffers who were here at the time, it's the same act Carter honed on his colleagues in the lunchroom for years.)
In a 1986 interview, Dick told the Deseret News' Elaine Jarvik, "I know it's not a matter of if I'll be on (Johnny Carson), but when."
Well, he missed Carson by a few months, but he'll make it to "The Tonight Show" next week.
NBC SHAKE-UP: NBC has a new executive, and an old one may be in trouble.
Former NBC Sports bigwig and independent producer Don Ohlmeyer has been named to the newly created position of president NBC, West Coast.
Embattled NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield will report to Ohlmeyer - putting another layer of management between Littlefield and NBC's top brass in New York.
And, in addressing the press, Ohlmeyer criticized NBC (although not Littlefield by name) for giving up its older-skewing shows in pursuit of younger demographics. He also promised to "retool" the network.
Under Littlefield, NBC has slipped from first to third in the ratings. Although he inherited many of the network's problems, he hasn't done much to remedy them.
Rumor is there's a pool at NBC-Burbank as to the date of Littlefield's firing.