Tim Allen Planning Spinoff Series
“Home Improvement” star Tim Allen has unveiled plans for a sitcom centered on the hardware store used in the original ABC series.
“It’s pretty much a spinoff of the hardware store on the series, but broadened out to a strip mall,” Allen told the winter press tour in Pasadena last week. “(The title is) either ‘Harry’s Hardware’ … or ‘Cranbrook Corners,’ which is the strip mall that Harry’s Hardware is located in.”
The show, which is part of Allen’s two-series commitment from the network, will not feature the comedian in a key role.
“I’ll be able to be on the show, but it won’t be about me, it will be about another group of characters,” he said.
Stations drop lesbian ‘Friends’
A couple of NBC affiliates were downright hostile about Thursday night’s episode of “Friends,” with its storyline involving a lesbian wedding ceremony.
NBC’s affiliates KJAC-TV in Port Arthur, Texas, and WLIO-TV in Lima, Ohio, refused to air the hit show after looking at an advance screening.
“We do not believe the episode of ‘Friends’ meets prevailing standards of good taste in our community,” Ron Kelly, KJAC vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
The show - airing in its usual 8 p.m. time slot - centered on the marriage of Ross’ (David Schwimmer) lesbian ex-wife to her partner. Activist Candace Gingrich, sister of House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, portrayed a minister performing the service.
An NBC spokesman said the episode met “acceptable guidelines for broadcasts and stays within viewer expectations for this program.”
He added that many affiliates screened the episode and concurred with NBC. However, he said, NBC “respected” the decision by the two stations not to air the show.
‘Pride’ an A&E ratings hit
A&E’s much-applauded adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic “Pride and Prejudice” generated the network’s highest ratings ever.
The three-part series, which aired Jan. 14-16, averaged a 5.9 rating (percentage of the 63.2 million homes that get the network), representing about 3.76 million homes. The previous A&E high came in September when it averaged a 4.2 rating with a “Biography” on Elizabeth Taylor.
A&E will repeat the miniseries on consecutive Saturdays, 10 p.m., starting Jan. 27.
‘Three Stooges’ return
Good news for fans of the old “Three Stooges” TV show.
Reruns have been picked up by the Family Channel. The network will start the repeat series Feb. 19 with a six-hour marathon, starting at noon.
The hour show will start its daily 11 p.m. run the same night.
The comedy trio, which started out as Moe Howard, Curly Howard and Larry Fine and later, one by one, filtered in Shemp Howard, Joe Besser and Curly Joe DeRita, made 190 short films between 1934 and 1965. It’s those shorts that were packaged into the television programs that have aired on local stations around the country for decades.
Rangers drop ‘Mighty Morphin’
The “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” are no more. When the popular animated kiddie show returns to Fox April 20 for its new season, the show will be retooled and retitled: “Power Rangers Zeo.”
While parents may not notice a difference, Fox’ president of kids programing Margaret Loesch said kids will immediately see the changes, including new costumes, new villains and more elaborate effects.
New ‘Dating,’ ‘Newlywed’ games
Columbia TriStar said it will produce new versions of the old favorites, “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game.”