A little housecleaning and a lot of old news for those who might have missed it:
* WHERE’S WONDERFALLS? “Wonderfalls,” the best new show of the season and a pretty strong candidate for the best show of any kind currently cranking out new episodes, airs a new episode 9 p.m. Thursday. That’s THURS-day. If you tune in 9 p.m. Friday (the show’s regular timeslot), you will discover only the mammothly dull reality dumpling “Forever Eden.” So don’t screw this up. A rerun of the “Wonderfalls” on March 18 brought the series its best ratings yet, so Fox execs may be hoping for big things. Here’s the bad news. NBC blockbuster “The Apprentice” was a “recap” episode (there was no new firing) on March 18. The new episode airing this week will whittle the contestants from five to four. If the programming geniuses at Fox really want to do themselves a favor, they’ll move “Wonderfalls” to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (after “American Idol”) and let established hit “24” prop up “Fox Friday” for a while.
* KINGDOM SACKED? “Wonderfalls” isn’t the only series having to compete with a new installment of “The Apprentice” this week. “Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital,” despite a respectably rated debut, is apparently doing so poorly ABC is shuffling it, too, to 9 p.m. Thursdays, beginning this week.
* FOR THE PEOPLE, STAR TREK, BARBARY COAST, T.J. HOOKER, TEKWAR AND … William Shatner’s latest TV series will be “The Pratice II,” or whatever ABC decides to call David E. Kelley’s “Practice” spinoff. Shatner’s co-stars are expected to include current “Practice” players James Spader, Rhona Mitra and Jessica Capshaw, as well as skinny young actresses named Lake Bell and Faye Masterson. (This is not Shatner’s first time playing a lawyer on a regular basis; almost 40 years ago he played a hard-driving assistant district attorney in 13 episodes of CBS’ “For the People.”) Camryn Manheim is not expected to be a regular part of the “Practice” spinoff, but ABC and Kelley are reportedly developing a second spinoff, a midseason half-hour sitcom that would revolve around Manheim’s Eleanor Frutt character.
* DE MATTEO DOING? Drea De Matteo, who essays Christophah’s girl Adriana on “The Sopranos,” will play Joey’s sister, Gina Trebbiani, on the “Friends” spinoff likely to take over the “Friends” timeslot come autumn. (Note please that Marla Sokoloff played Joey’s sister Dina Trebbiani two seasons ago.) No one expects the new show to interfere with De Matteo’s ability to appear the sixth and final season of “Sopranos.” Pundits predict “Joey” could be bigger than “AfterMASH.”
* LAW & ORBACH? Jerry Orbach, now in his 12th year of playing the detective who likes to make fun of victims’ lifestyles on “Law & Order,” is rumored to be leaving that show to star in a fourth “L&O” franchise. In other spinoff news, Gary Sinise’s “CSI: New York” co-stars are now expected to include Melina Kankaredes (“Providence”), Carmine Giovinazzo (“Shasta McNasty”) and the dreamy Vanessa Ferlito (“25th Hour”).
* KINGDOM SACKED? “Wonderfalls” isn’t the only series having to compete with a new installment of “The Apprentice” this week. “Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital,” despite a respectably rated debut, is apparently doing so poorly ABC is shuffling it, too, to 9 p.m. Thursdays, beginning this week.
* FOR THE PEOPLE, STAR TREK, BARBARY COAST, T.J. HOOKER, TEKWAR AND … William Shatner’s latest TV series will be “The Pratice II,” or whatever ABC decides to call David E. Kelley’s “Practice” spinoff. Shatner’s co-stars are expected to include current “Practice” players James Spader, Rhona Mitra and Jessica Capshaw, as well as skinny young actresses named Lake Bell and Faye Masterson. (This is not Shatner’s first time playing a lawyer on a regular basis; almost 40 years ago he played a hard-driving assistant district attorney in 13 episodes of CBS’ “For the People.”) Camryn Manheim is not expected to be a regular part of the “Practice” spinoff, but ABC and Kelley are reportedly developing a second spinoff, a midseason half-hour sitcom that would revolve around Manheim’s Eleanor Frutt character.
* DE MATTEO DOING? Drea De Matteo, who essays Christophah’s girl Adriana on “The Sopranos,” will play Joey’s sister, Gina Trebbiani, on the “Friends” spinoff likely to take over the “Friends” timeslot come autumn. (Note please that Marla Sokoloff played Joey’s sister Dina Trebbiani two seasons ago.) No one expects the new show to interfere with De Matteo’s ability to appear the sixth and final season of “Sopranos.” Pundits predict “Joey” could be bigger than “AfterMASH.”
* LAW & ORBACH? Jerry Orbach, now in his 12th year of playing the detective who likes to make fun of victims’ lifestyles on “Law & Order,” is rumored to be leaving that show to star in a fourth “L&O” franchise. In other spinoff news, Gary Sinise’s “CSI: New York” co-stars are now expected to include Melina Kankaredes (“Providence”), Carmine Giovinazzo (“Shasta McNasty”) and the dreamy Vanessa Ferlito (“25th Hour”).
* DE MATTEO DOING? Drea De Matteo, who essays Christophah’s girl Adriana on “The Sopranos,” will play Joey’s sister, Gina Trebbiani, on the “Friends” spinoff likely to take over the “Friends” timeslot come autumn. (Note please that Marla Sokoloff played Joey’s sister Dina Trebbiani two seasons ago.) No one expects the new show to interfere with De Matteo’s ability to appear the sixth and final season of “Sopranos.” Pundits predict “Joey” could be bigger than “AfterMASH.”
* LAW & ORBACH? Jerry Orbach, now in his 12th year of playing the detective who likes to make fun of victims’ lifestyles on “Law & Order,” is rumored to be leaving that show to star in a fourth “L&O” franchise. In other spinoff news, Gary Sinise’s “CSI: New York” co-stars are now expected to include Melina Kankaredes (“Providence”), Carmine Giovinazzo (“Shasta McNasty”) and the dreamy Vanessa Ferlito (“25th Hour”).
