ABC Schedule Set for "Rules" hiatus - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

benjamoon · 10-10-2003, 02:51 PM

from Zap2It.com

"ABC Schedule Set for 'Rules' Hiatus"

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - On Tuesday night (Oct. 7), nearly 18 million viewers tuned in to ABC and said goodbye to John Ritter. The final episode of "8 Simple Rules" to feature the late actor set series records for total viewers and for ratings among adults 18-49 (7.1 rating/21 share in the popular demographic). Now, ABC has begun its plan to move on.

Almost immediately following Ritter's death, ABC announced that the show would go on without him. Tuesday's episode was the last of three new episodes that Ritter had completed before his death. ABC has always intended for the show to go on a brief hiatus while the writers conceive of what can only be described as a massive shift in tone for the second-year comedy.

That puts Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. in limbo for a while. The fallow period will actually begin with a repeat of "8 Simple Rules" on Oct. 14. ABC will reair last season's "Come and Knock on Our Door" episode, which featured a "Three's Company"-inspired dream sequence. The next week, will see the 8 p.m. slot filled with "According to Jim" and on Oct. 28, ABC will take the opportunity to air the classic holiday special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

That would position ABC perfectly to have "8 Simple Rules" return with a very special hour-long episode on either Nov. 4 (the first Tuesday of the sweeps period) or the week after (still comfortably during sweeps). The network has yet to officially announce plans for the show's dramatic return, but given the likelihood that viewer curiosity will yield huge audiences, a sweeps relaunch seems inevitable.

Mr. Roper · 10-11-2003, 10:45 AM

Thanks for that.

barwars · 10-11-2003, 10:55 AM

My VCR is ready....

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 10-11-2003, 06:20 PM

Thanks for posting that.

luckilab1 · 10-11-2003, 08:09 PM

In this week's People magazine it had an article about 8SR and said it was likely they were going to introduce two new characters into the show.. Paul's in-laws.

bb25 · 10-13-2003, 10:26 PM

Wow! Even with outstanding ratings like that for a few weeks, doesn't that automatically ensure this show will be in the Top 10?

10-10-2003, 02:51 PM	#1
benjamoon Bewitched Senior Member Join Date: Jun 15, 2000 Location: New York Posts: 1,450	ABC Schedule Set for "Rules" hiatus from Zap2It.com "ABC Schedule Set for 'Rules' Hiatus" LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - On Tuesday night (Oct. 7), nearly 18 million viewers tuned in to ABC and said goodbye to John Ritter. The final episode of "8 Simple Rules" to feature the late actor set series records for total viewers and for ratings among adults 18-49 (7.1 rating/21 share in the popular demographic). Now, ABC has begun its plan to move on. Almost immediately following Ritter's death, ABC announced that the show would go on without him. Tuesday's episode was the last of three new episodes that Ritter had completed before his death. ABC has always intended for the show to go on a brief hiatus while the writers conceive of what can only be described as a massive shift in tone for the second-year comedy. That puts Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. in limbo for a while. The fallow period will actually begin with a repeat of "8 Simple Rules" on Oct. 14. ABC will reair last season's "Come and Knock on Our Door" episode, which featured a "Three's Company"-inspired dream sequence. The next week, will see the 8 p.m. slot filled with "According to Jim" and on Oct. 28, ABC will take the opportunity to air the classic holiday special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." That would position ABC perfectly to have "8 Simple Rules" return with a very special hour-long episode on either Nov. 4 (the first Tuesday of the sweeps period) or the week after (still comfortably during sweeps). The network has yet to officially announce plans for the show's dramatic return, but given the likelihood that viewer curiosity will yield huge audiences, a sweeps relaunch seems inevitable.
	__________________ My Blog: http://benjamonsterstv.blogspot.com/ My Site: peaktvdatabase.weebly.com My favorite TV shows: Bewitched, I Love Lucy, American Dreams, Mary Tyler Moore, The Office, Happy Days, The West Wing, Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Friends, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, and Parenthood

10-11-2003, 10:45 AM	#2
Mr. Roper Some Guy Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 24, 2003 Location: PA Posts: 111	Thanks for that.
	__________________ http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/...ex/cheers1.jpg

10-11-2003, 06:20 PM	#4
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	Thanks for posting that.
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

10-11-2003, 10:55 AM	#3
barwars .. Forum Star Join Date: May 04, 2002 Posts: 13,273	My VCR is ready....

10-11-2003, 08:09 PM	#5
luckilab1 John Ritter fan Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 19, 2003 Posts: 108	In this week's People magazine it had an article about 8SR and said it was likely they were going to introduce two new characters into the show.. Paul's in-laws.

10-13-2003, 10:26 PM	#6
bb25 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 22, 2002 Posts: 784	Wow! Even with outstanding ratings like that for a few weeks, doesn't that automatically ensure this show will be in the Top 10?