Those jolly jokers at NBC are apparently under the impression that TV critics are even dumber than we sometimes seem. Their latest press release announcing a scheduling change is laughably disingenuous.
Beginning tonight, NBC will begin airing back-to-back episodes of "Just Shoot Me" on Tuesdays. In addition to the regular 8 p.m. airing, a second episode will be seen at 7:30 p.m. throughout the month of November.(The earlier time slot will be filled by a mix of new and repeat episodes.)
According to NBC, this is an effort to "boost exposure" for "Just Shoot Me," which was frequently pre-empted during the baseball playoffs. And it might help that show.
But the real reason for this move is to get "Encore, Encore" - the Nathan Lane sitcom that's bombing - off the air during the November sweeps. As an idiot (even a TV critic) who pays the least bit of attention to television could tell you.
ARSENIO SIGNS ON: As anticipated, former talk-show host Arsenio Hall has joined the cast of the CBS chop-socky series "Martial Law." He'll play a police press liaison who plays off star Sammo Hung.
Hall is set for a three-episode story arc, and - depending on how that goes - he may become a permanent fixture on the show. His first episode is set to air Nov. 21.
ABC PICK-UP ORDERS: ABC has ordered additional episodes of several of its series, bringing them up to a full-season's 22 episodes. Some are no surprise - freshman shows "The Hughleys," "Two of a Kind" and "Brother's Keeper" are all doing relatively well.
The orders are a vote of confidence for other shows doing less well, like freshmen "Sports Night and "Cupid" as well as sophomore series "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place."
Conspicuously absent from the list are shows like "Fantasy Island" and "The Secret Lives of Men," whose fate now hangs in the balance.
ANOTHER SEASON: Over at Fox, the network is expressing confidence in "King of the Hill," despite drastically lower ratings since the series moved to Tuesdays from Sundays. Fox has ordered 22 episodes for next season.
Of course, with the amount of time it takes to produce an animated series they have to get in an early order or be caught short on episodes.
MORE "MYSTERIES": CBS, which never really got around to putting the canceled NBC series "Unsolved Mysteries" on its midseason schedule last season, plans to do so this season. Virginia Madsen will join Robert Stack as the co-host.