Upcoming Episodes - wait, did somebody turn March and April into sweeps months?

3/19 - Bart Has Two Mommies (HABF07) ...specifically, Marge, who is busy watching the Flanders brothers (in exchange for a computer Ned won but won't use) while Ned is away at a left-handers convention, and Homer, who has to watch Bart and Lisa while Marge is watching Rod and Todd - and ends up watching Bart get himself held hostage by a monkey at an animal retirement home

3/26 - Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife (HABF08) Ricky Gervais (of the BBC version of "The Office") not only wrote this episode ,he guest voices as a man who trades wives with Homer after Homer wins a trip to Fox Studios (in a contest he entered to win a plasma TV after seeing Lenny's new one) and joins a new Fox reality series

4/2 - Million Dollar Abie (HABF09) When Grampa causes the NFL to change its mind about putting a new team in Springfield, the stadium built for it is changed to a bullring, and a botched suicide attempt gives Grampa a new lease on life, which he decides to live to the fullest - starting with fighting a bull.

4/9 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore (HABF10) Mr. Burns decides to replace Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with a plant in India, and he sends Homer there to train the new employees, but Homer lets his new authority get to his head; Patty and Selma kidnap Richard Dean Anderson (who voices himself), but have to devise a scheme worthy of MacGyver himself in order to get him to leave

This is the first time since December 1996-January 1997 that new episodes have aired on four consecutive non-November/February/May Sundays. The fact that this is also the first season ever, including season one, when there was only one new episode in February (in fact, none have had fewer than three before this) probably has something to do with that...

-- Don S1.1 MAG+++ LIS++ BAR+ SKI+ MrsK+ MissH+ P&S# FLA- (heresy!) f+++ n+++ Ilps(w) $+++ M44 And even with four in a row, that's only 17 this season, with six Sundays remaining before the ratings season ends on 5/21

"Don Del Grande" wrote in message news:[email]...

FINALLY!

I mean, we were all wondering when he would guest star.

-- R Flowers

Don Del Grande wrote:

Argh, I was wondering about that, especially given the September head start. I am anticipating another season 14/16-esque doubling up (what sort of ratings is "The War at Home" bringing in?), unless they want to shoot for *8* holdover episodes in the HABF production season...

Matt Garvey wrote:

How many episodes were planned to air this season? Usually, it's 22, which would mean one per Sunday with one week off (probably to air a movie on 5/21). Airing two on each Sunday in May (except for the day before Memorial Day, which is a pre-emption for the Coca-Cola 600) would make it 23, and that assumes no new episodes between April 9 and May 7.

As for The War At Home, I've heard two different stories. On the one hand, it gets good ratings, but probably less than what can be expected from a show between The Simpsons and Family Guy (it's the "leave the TV on NBC between Cosby and Cheers / Cheers and Hill Street Blues / Friends and Seinfeld / Seinfeld and ER" trick all over again). On the other hand, one report has it "on the bubble" for returning next season. (My first thought was that Fox would renew it, but move it to Sundays at 7; however, since it has a "viewer discretion advised" warning at the beginning of pretty much every episode, Fox wouldn't want to take chances with the FCC (which is also why you won't see American Dad moved there either).)

("Why don't the just cancel American Dad and move The War At Home to 9:30?" For the same reason Futurama lasted five seasons even though its ratings were only about as good as shows that were lucky to get five episodes; they don't want to piss off somebody who has a lot to do with one of their popular shows. "You're thinking of cancelling American Dad, huh? Say, have you heard the plans for next season's Family Guy, where most of the episodes concentrate on Meg?")

-- Don

Lousy Smarch sweeps...

Paul