Nick at Nite Request: "Evening Shade"

[grundoontv]

Dear Mr. Ascheim,

I have a proposal for Nick at Nite: to make a deal with 20th Century Fox Television

for Nick at Nite to acquire the exclusive basic cable U.S. rights to the hit 1990-1994

sitcom "Evening Shade," which starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, a former college and

pro football player who returned to his hometown of Evening Shade, Arkansas, to coach the

local high school football team, the Evening Shade Mules, which had not won a game in two

years. As you can imagine, sir, Wood played for the high school team before joining the

college and pro football circuit. Moving with Wood were Wood's wife of sixteen years, Ava

(played by Marilu Henner, late of "Taxi"); their teenage son, Taylor (played by Jay R.

Ferguson), who assumed position of the careful quarterback on the football team; and little

Molly and Will (played, respectively, by Candace Hutson and Jacob Parker). At the end of

the show's first season, a new baby was born with Ava and Wood's 4th child, daughter Emily

(played regularly during the 1993-1994 season by Alexa Vega). Other characters on the show

were Harlan Elldridge (played by Charles Durning, who recently was honored at the Screen

Actors Guild awards), the town's cranky physician; Harlan's wife, Merleen (played by Ann

Wedgeworth, a onetime "Three's Company" cast member); and Herman Stiles (played by the late

Michael Jeter, who died of AIDS in 2003), the wimpy math teacher who served as Wood's

assistant football coach at the high school. The owner of the town restaurant, the Barbecue

Villa, was Ponder Blue (played by another late great, Ossie Davis, who died in 2005 of

natural causes during a break from filming the movie "Retirement" in Florida). The reason,

sir, I suggest that Nick at Nite acquire "Evening Shade" is not just because of the great

acting talent, but because of the fact that Season 1 of "Evening Shade" is scheduled to be

released on DVD June 24, 2008. I suggest that Nick at Nite add "Evening Shade" to its

regular lineup on Monday, June 2, 2008 with a week-long, all-night marathon from 9 p.m.-6

a.m. Monday-Thursday, June 5, 2008 showcasing the best episode ever made from the entire

series run. Then, starting Monday, June 9, 2008, Nick at Nite starts airing reruns of

"Evening Shade" weeknights with back-to-back episodes at 11 p.m. ET/PT, with each episode

being shown complete, uncut, & unedited, just the way that they originally aired on the CBS

Television Network. Who knows, sir? If enough people watch "Evening Shade" reruns on Nick

at Nite, it could boost up DVD sales, which could lead to future season DVDs of "Evening

Shade." In any event, thank you, sir, for reading this letter, and I hope that you will

take this into consideration.
Sincerely,
Grundoon Katt

[grundoontv]

Dear Nick at Nite Viewer Services,

I have a proposal for Nick at Nite: to make a deal with 20th Century Fox Television for Nick at Nite to have exclusivity in airing reruns of the hit 1990-1994 sitcom "Evening Shade," which was created by Burt Reynolds.

On the show, Reynolds cast himself as Wood Newton, a former pro football player who returned to his hometown of Evening Shade, Arkansas, to coach his former high school football team, the Evening Shade Mules, which hadn't won a single game in over two years.

On the homefront, Wood lived with his wife of 16 years, Ava Evans (played by Marilu Henner), and their 3 children--teenager Taylor (played by Jay R. Ferguson), and kindergarten-age Molly and Will (played by Jacob Parker and Candace Hutson).

Other residents of Evening Shade included the cranky town physician, Dr. Harlan Ellridge (played by Charles Durning), Herman Stiles (played by Michael Jeter), Wood's assistant coach who doubled as the wimpy math teacher; and Ponder Blue (played by Ossie Davis), the local restaurant owner.

Reynolds conceived the idea for "Evening Shade" based on his real-life experiences playing college football at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

He eventually pitched the idea to "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth, who helped Reynolds pitch the show to the network.

Here's a little known fact about Burt Reynolds I bet you never knew: Burt's early biographies listed his birthplace as Waycross, Georgia. Guess what that information is -- WRONG! The truth is, Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan and was raised from infancy in Jupiter, Florida.

Tentatively, Nick at Nite shall add reruns of "Evening Shade" to its regular schedule starting Monday, September 20, 2010, in celebration of its 20th anniversary week, with a week-long "Burt-a-Thon," a week-long marathon showcasing the entire career of Burt Reynolds, from classic theatrical movies making their Nick at Nite premieres such as "Deliverance," "Smokey and the Bandit," and "Gator," along with 4 episodes of "Evening Shade" each night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET/PT each night in a 4-night marathon.

After the marathon, Nick at Nite shall showcase the complete 101-episode library of "Evening Shade" by airing 7 nights a week with back-to-back episodes at 11 p.m. ET/PT, with each episode showcased complete, uncut, & unedited, just the way they originally aired on the CBS Television Network.

Sincerely,
Grundoon Katt

[Scoobiedoo30]

I would love to see this show on Nick@Nite

[dandaman2001]

Dear Nick at Nite Viewer Services,

I have a proposal for Nick at Nite: to make a deal with 20th Century Fox Television for Nick at Nite to have exclusivity in airing reruns of the hit 1990-1994 sitcom "Evening Shade."

"Evening Shade" was a sitcom created by Burt Reynolds, who cast himself as Wood Newton, a former pro football player who returned to his hometown of rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach the high-school football team, the Evening Shade Mules.

Wood resided with his wife of 16 years, Ava Evans, (Marilu Henner), and their 3 children--among them 14-year-old Taylor (Jay R. Ferguson), who serves as the quarterback of his dad's football team, and elementary-school aged Molly (Candace Hutson) and Will (Jacob Parker).

Other residents of "Evening Shade" included Ava's father, Evan (Hal Holbrook), Herman Stiles (Michael Jeter), the school math teacher who served as Wood's assistant coach, and Ponder Blue (Ossie Davis), the proprietor of the local restaurant, the Barbecue Villa.

Burt Reynolds' IMDB listing lists his birthdate as February 11, 1936 in Waycross, Georgia. WRONG! In actuality, Reynolds was born on February 11, 1935 in Lansing, Michigan. He was raised from infancy in Jupiter, Florida and spent his teenage years in nearby Riviera Beach, Florida.

Tentatively, Nick at Nite shall add "Evening Shade" to its regular lineup starting Monday, April 2, 2012 (THAT is NO April Fool) with a week-long "Burt-a-Thon," showcasing every movie Burt Reynolds ever made between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. ET/PT each night, combined with 4 "Evening Shade" episodes per night from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET/PT.

After the "Burt-a-Thon," Nick at Nite shall add the complete 101-episode library of "Evening Shade" to its regular schedule by airing the series weeknights with 2 episodes each night at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Each episode of "Evening Shade" on Nick at Nite shall be aired complete, uncut, & unedited, as originally broadcast on the CBS Television Network.

Sincerely,
Danny Hooley

[bieberfever]

Dear Nick at Nite Viewer Services,

I have a proposal for Nick at Nite: to make a deal with 20th Century Fox Television for Nick at Nite to have exclusivity in airing reruns of the hit 1990-1994 sitcom Evening Shade, which was created by Burt Reynolds.

After ordering a pilot script from close friend Linda Bloodworth (the creator of Designing Women), Burt cast himself as Wood Newton, a former pro football player who returned to his hometown of Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach the local high-school football team, the Evening Shade Mules, who had not won a game in two years.

His family consisted of his wife of 16 years, Ava Evans (Marilu Henner), and their 3 children, including teenager Taylor (Jay R. Ferguson), the quarterback on the high-school football team, and school-aged Molly (Candace Hutson) and Will (Jacob Parker). (A 4th child, Emily, was born at the end of the 1st season but was not seen until later episodes, played by Alexa Vega).

Other Evening Shade residents included Ponder Blue (Ossie Davis), the owner of the Barbecue Villa, the local restaurant; Herman Stiles (Michael Jeter), the high-school Math teacher who did double duty as Woods assistant football coach (though toward the series finale he was fired from his Math job but kept his coaching position thanks to Wood); and Dr. Harlan Elldridge (Charles Durning), the town Physician, along with Harlans wife, Merleen (Ann Wedgeworth).

TRIVIA: A common myth about Burt Reynolds (one even yours truly was incorrectly taught growing up) states his date of birth as February 11, 1936 in Waycross, Georgia. WRONG! According to Burts E! True Hollywood Story episode aired on March 5, 2000, Burt was ACTUALLY born on February 11, 1935 (date given from the Wipeout pilot hosted by Peter Tomarken in the category Stars Over 50) in Lansing, Michigan. Burt was raised from infancy in Jupiter, Florida, where his dad, Burt, Sr., was a local Deputy Sheriff.

As a young teenager in nearby Riviera Beach, Florida, where his dads job had transferred the family, Buddy (as he was called growing up in Jupiter) befriended a troubled teenager named Jimmy; soon afterwards, Buddy had convinced his parents to legally adopt young Jimmy as their own son.

After graduating high school in 1954, Buddy became a star quarterback for the Florida State University football team in Tallahassee (which would eventually become the inspiration for his creating Evening Shade), but missed out on turning pro due to a football injury, so he ventured into acting.

In 1962, 27-year-old Burt began a 3-year run on the long-running series Gunsmoke, a Western for the CBS Television Network (after a short-lived series, Hawk, flopped 2 years earlier for ABC).

After the short-lived ABC cop show Dan August flopped in 1970, Burt decided to begin a film career that spanned nearly 2 decades and included such films as Gator (made in Savannah, Georgia) and Switching Channels.

In 1986, while playing a game of Celebrity Charades with Celeb friends including then-wife Loni Anderson, game show host Bert Convy, & Fred Astaire, Burt & Bert brought out an easel and soon discovered together that Fred was an extremely shy guy and could better express himself at drawing.

Thus, a new game was invented: Win, Lose or Draw.

Soon afterwards, Jeopardy! & Wheel of Fortune creator Merv Griffin told Burt how much money he had made on those 2 Monopolies; that was what made Burt decide to turn the game Win, Lose or Draw into a game show.

With Bert Convy as host, Win, Lose or Draw began a 3-year run, airing from 1987-1990, after which Burt created Evening Shade.

In 1994, Evening Shade left the air after 4 seasons on the CBS Television Network, after which Burt tried to resume his film career, to no avail.

In late 2011, Burt, age 76, faced foreclosure on his longtime home in his hometown of Jupiter, Florida, where he owns a Dinner Theater.

Tentatively, Nick at Nite shall add Evening Shade to its regular lineup with a week-long Burt-a-Thon, showcasing an evenings worth of Classic Burt Reynolds movies making their Nick at Nite debut (e.g. Deliverance, Gator, & Switching Channels) from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. ET/PT each night, mixed together with 4 Evening Shade episodes per night from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET/PT.

The Burt-a-Thon shall last 4 consecutive nights starting on Monday, September 17, 2012, after which Nick at Nite shall add the complete 101 episode library of Evening Shade to its regular lineup by airing Weeknights with back-to-back episodes at 11 p.m. ET/PT, only on Nick at Nite.

[stevearino]

Dear Nick at Nite Viewer Services,

I have a proposal for Nick at Nite: in loving memory of Burt Reynolds (who died on September 6, 2018 at age 83), it's my humblest suggestion that Nick at Nite make a deal with 20th Century Fox Television (a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) for Nick at Nite to become the exclusive home of the Complete Series Library of "Evening Shade."

Created by Burt Reynolds, "Evening Shade" was based loosely on Burt's real life growing up in Jupiter, Florida (where he was raised from infancy up after being born in Lansing, Michigan on February 11, 1935). As a young college student, Burt played football at Florida State University in Tallahassee, but an Injury cut short his aspirations of going Pro.

After pitching the concept to "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth, Burt and Linda teamed up to pitch the Concept to execs at MTM Enterprises, Inc., which greenlit the Production rights to the series, which aired on the CBS Television Network from September 21, 1990 - May 23, 1994 for 4 seasons of 98 episodes.

Initially airing Friday nights at 8 P.M. ET on CBS, "Evening Shade" soon afterwards moved to Monday nights at 8 P.M. ET as lead-in to Gerald McRaney's sitcom creation "Major Dad," in a time-slot where the series would remain for the rest of its 4-year run on CBS.

For the show, Burt Reynolds became Wood Newton, a former Pro Football player who returned to his hometown of rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach the fictional local High School Football Team, the Evening Shade Mules, assisted by Herman Stiles (Mike Jeter).

Other characters on the show included Ava Evans (Marilu Henner), Wood's wife of 16 years, along with their 3 children: teenager Taylor (Jay R. Ferguson), who served as the High School's Quarterback; and little Molly (Candy Hutson) and Will (Jacob Parker), as well as infant daughter Emily (played in later episodes by Alexa Vega), as well as Dr. Harlan Elldridge (Charles Durning), the town Physician; Merleen Elldridge (Ann Wedgeworth), Harlan's wife; and Ponder Blue (Ossie Davis), the Proprietor of the local town Restaurant, the Barbecue Villa.

Tentatively, in memory of Burt Reynolds, Nick at Nite shall welcome "Evening Shade"

to its regular lineup on Monday, March 4, 2019 with a week-long "Burt-a-Thon," showcasing Classic Burt Reynolds movies such as "Deliverance," "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Cannonball Run" among other examples, along with 4 "Evening Shade" episodes each night from 11 P.M. to 1 A.M. ET through Thursday, March 7, 2019; after the "Burt-a-Thon," Nick at Nite shall add "Evening Shade" to its regular lineup by airing Weeknights at 11 P.M. ET, only on Nick at Nite.

The schedule for the week-long "Burt-a-Thon" shall include, as follows:

Monday, March 4, 2019 (All Times ET/PT)
9 P.M. Deliverance
11 P.M. Evening Shade
11:30 P.M. Evening Shade
12 A.M. Evening Shade
12:30 A.M. Evening Shade
1 A.M. Smokey and the Bandit
3 A.M. Smokey and the Bandit II
5 A.M. Gator

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 (All Times ET/PT)
9 P.M. The Cannonball Run
11 P.M. Evening Shade
11:30 P.M. Evening Shade
12 A.M. Evening Shade
12:30 A.M. Evening Shade
1 A.M. The Cannonball Run II
3 A.M. Switching Channels
5 A.M. Stroker Ace

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 (All Times ET/PT)
9 P.M. White Lightning
11 P.M. Evening Shade
11:30 P.M. Evening Shade
12 A.M. Evening Shade
12:30 A.M. Evening Shade
1 A.M. Cop and a Half
3 A.M. The Cannonball Run
5 A.M. The Cannonball Run II

Thursday, March 7, 2019 (All Times ET/PT)
9 P.M. Smokey and the Bandit
11 P.M. Evening Shade
11:30 P.M. Evening Shade
12 A.M. Evening Shade
12:30 A.M. Evening Shade
1 A.M. Smokey and the Bandit II
3 A.M. The Cannonball Run
5 A.M. Deliverance

Sincerely,
Steve Arino

[tenter]

Since it is now March, that really didn't happen