TV Jots

On Satellite TV, That Is

I received a publicity email recently containing information that, for once, I’m more than happy to share. Thrilled, in fact. That’s because according to the statement, the three fantastic — or at least to me — short-lived series Eyes, Smith, and The Nine will be showing up on TV screens again in as little as a few weeks … if you happen to have DirecTV (which I don’t).

All three of the crime dramas, which I followed when they were originally on, aired only a handful of episodes: ABC’s 2005–2006 Eyes had five of 13 produced, ABC’s 2006–2007 The Nine nine of 13 produced, and CBS’ 2006 Smith three of seven produced.

The great part about their forthcoming return on DirecTV’s 101 Network and DirecTV on DEMAND, then, is that fans will get to see those episodes that didn’t make it to the tube the first time around (however, Eyes will feature just seven of the eight unaired episodes, which is still excellent).

Even better, the broadcasts will be commercial-free and in High Definition. That almost makes me want to go and sign up for the service.

Smith (starring Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Franky G., Chris Bauer, and Shohreh Aghdashloo) begins on April 8 at 10pm EST.

The Nine (starring Lourdes Benedicto, John Billingsley, Jessica Collins, Tim Daly, Dana Davis, Camille Guaty, Chi McBride, Kim Raver, Scott Wolf, and Owain Yeoman) premieres one week after Smith‘s finale, airing at 10pm starting May 27.

Eyes (starring Tim Daly, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, A.J. Langer, Laura Leighton, Eric Mabius, Rick Worthy, and Natalie Zea) will arrive last, in July, providing a lead-in for The Nine at 9pm EST.

For those who are unaware, DirecTV is the same entity that directly helped save critically acclaimed yet poor-rated Friday Night Lights from cancellation last year when it struck a deal with NBC to pay for some of the show’s production costs. As a result of that generosity and recognition of good television, FNL completed a third season. Praises to the satellite company for that and the latest announcement.