"Commander in Chief" Comes Back — But …
For weeks, ABC has had the return of "Commander in Chief" scheduled for April 18. Now it will be back sooner than expected, according to this ABC announcement today:
“Commander In Chief” makes its return to the ABC schedule beginning THURSDAY, APRIL 13 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET). In the interim, the ABC newsmagazine “Primetime” will air on FRIDAYS, APRIL 14 & 21 and MAY 5 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET). “Primetime” will return to its regular scheduled time period THURSDAY, MAY 25 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET). “Less than Perfect” returns TUESDAY, APRIL 18 (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET), along with an additional episode of “Hope & Faith” (9:00-9:30 p.m., ET).
The ABC primetime schedule for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays will be as follows:
Beginning Thursday, April 13
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition — After the Storm” 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET
“American Inventor” 9:00-10:01 p.m., ET
“Commander In Chief” 10:01-11:00 p.m., ET
Beginning Friday, April 14
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET
“Primetime” 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET (April 14, 21 and May 5 only)
“20/20” 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET
Beginning Tuesday, April 18
“According to Jim” 8:00-8:30 p.m., ET
“Hope & Faith” 8:30-9:00 p.m., ET
“Hope & Faith” 9:00-9:30 p.m., ET
“Less than Perfect” 9:30-10:00 p.m., ET
“Boston Legal” 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET
(end announcement material)
I'm not sure what to make of this. "Commander in Chief" is still well-liked by viewers, judging from the frequent letters I get asking when it will return. So why put it at Thursdays at 10, when it has to compete against "ER" and "Without a Trace"? It could be that ABC is just burning off the show, but I'm not convinced. After all, "American Inventor" has shown some promise for the network, and may be a good lead-in to "CiC." ABC may also sense that those "CiC" letter-writers will follow the show almost anywhere.
Interesting to see "Less Than Perfect" return instead of, say, "Crumbs," which is not scheduled and still has unaired episodes waiting for telecast. I guess ABC thinks the older comedy still has some life.
March 30th, 2006 at 10:22 am
As much as I LOVE Commander in Chief, I have been watching ER for years, and now with great characters/actors like Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Neela Rasgotra (Parminder Nagra) I LOVE the show!
So unfortunately/fortunately one of the shows is going to be taped and one is only going to be watched. The question is, which one???
April 8th, 2006 at 9:30 am
I will watch Commader In Chief NO MATTER WHICH time slot is is assigned.
April 8th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Exactly what is going on here? I believe the first seder on the first night of Passover will still be in progress. Can't imagine ABC doesn't know this. None of the shows will have their usual viewing audience.
For our part, we'll tape the show. I'd love to know what is really behind this decision. Where's the pressure really coming from to work so hard to do in what might arguably be one of the top 5 shows on TV.
April 9th, 2006 at 7:31 am
baby boomers have all the money!!! WE want commander in chief…..even though we are not teeny boppers… it's aboout time ABC kept something for us!!!!
April 10th, 2006 at 8:15 am
Hum.. I like both Commander-in-Chief, and I like ER. I already record ER for later viewing. Now I have to choose between recording ER or recording Commander-in-Chief.
April 16th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
I like Commander in Chief, as do all my friends. What is happening? Why no replays like other shows? Why criticize the viewing audience size when it was opposite American Idol? Of course since it suggests the US could have a good woman as president there couldn't be any sabotage…that would be silly.
May 10th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
I love commander in chief. Even though people say that it is mostly older people who watch it I am only 21 yet it is my favorite and many of my friends favorite show.
June 7th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
What the hell???
Commander in Chief is an excellent show. I am a bit disappointed with the current writing, though. I liked it better when the creator of the show was writing the diaolgue. It had more bit. I would like to know how we can keep that show going. I have been watching ER since before the Anthony Edwards days.
I guess George Sr. is still ouching from when an independent ran in his reelect and he kinda lost. ha ha