By LillyKatPTR Senior Staff Writer
Oh, my beloved Hallmark Channel.
What have you done?
You've REMOVED Touched By An Angel from your daily programming schedule?!?!?!?
And I'm now inundated with e-mails asking what I can do about it?!?!?!?!
I can, obviously, do nothing except give this open letter to you (and everyone else):
Hi Hallmark,
I'm a senior staff writer for the indy television blog, Pass the Remote. We cover quite a bit of Hallmark programming. I decided to write today because I myself received several e-mails this morning with regards to the recent programming decision to remove Touched By An Angel from your daily schedule. I was under the impression the show had consistently been one of your more popular airings and/or has remained slotted at 12 p.m. for almost a year and half. Additionally, its airing on Hallmark is promoted on the Touched.com site and elsewhere as a place where TBAA fans can still go to get their fix of all-things Monica, Tess, Andrea and Gloria.
As I've looked at the schedule today, it seems to now be tipped almost exclusively in the comedy direction. I had read on your forums and elsewhere that the I Love Lucy folks were feeling a bit shortchanged with so few offerings of their show, but it now seems that TBAA has lost out completely. I understand you recently did a similar experiment with Little House on the Prairie - sort of removing it unexpectedly only to have concern expressed by those who love the show, and thus, it was able to find its way back onto the schedule.
I know you experiment with scheduling from time to time, but in my very humble opinion, this seems somewhat of an unfair decision to TBAA fans. It also seems even more ill-timed given the fact Roma Downey stars in the upcoming Come Dance at My Wedding and on one of the current behind the scenes clips out on the consumer side of the Hallmark site, she discusses how fortunate it is to have TBAA have found a home on Hallmark Channel.
As I had the pleasure of speaking with Roma recently, and we were able to discuss the continuing legacy of the show - its timeless quality that resonates between generations - on behalf of TBAA fans across the globe, might it not be possible to remove one hour of one of those comedy blocks to put this beloved show back on the air?
Thanks very much for your time.
If you want to let Hallmark Channel know what you feel, write them: viewers@hallmarkchannel.com; call them (888) 390-7474 or fill out their online feedback form.
('Cause really, folks, I love you guys think I have THAT much power, but alas, I don't. Perhaps we should send for Monica?)
EDITED TO ADD: I love that Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel say today how TBAA "is having another life in repeats on the channel as well." Oops! Not anymore, eh?
EDITED TO ADD #2: Looks as though Hallmark plans to resume airings of TBAA on June 29, 2009. One of our readers (thanks, John) found this with new DVR program data, and Hallmark has indicated this on the June page of the monthly calendar on the TBAA portion of their Web site. Standard disclaimer is I will believe it when I see it, but ... yay!
EDITED TO ADD #3: Effective June 1st, Hallmark is airing TBAA at 8 p.m. daily. The TBAA portion of their Web site has been updated accordingly. Yay!
18 comments:
Thank you for this. It makes NO SENSE TO US TBAA FANS!!!! Too much "I Love Lucy." Why was TBAA the only show never to get to be on air more than one hour a day ??
Please, Hallmark ... put Angel back on the schedule!
This is so lame. Hallmark hasn't settled on their programming schedule for months since they started airing Golden Girls. They keep switching everything to try and find a schedule that works. But they always kept Touched By An Angel at noon. Why get rid of it with overkill on Golden Girls and I Love Lucy??? TBAA was the only show to not have more than one airing during the day, and they totally throw it away. Come on, Hallmark! PLEASE!!
So they take a show that was airing only once a day to none a day, and they take a show that was already airing 4 times a day and allow it to air 7 times a day? Yeah, that makes sense.
Seriously, folks, I don't know the how/why, but my own personal opinion is that 'Touched By An Angel' should be able to stick around - there seems to be plenty of room in the schedule to give it one hour a day.
Kind of surprises me Hallmark would do this RIGHT before a Roma Downey movie is set to air on the channel and/or people are probably going to have their interest peaked - vicariously, anyway - once again in the show on the whole.
Additionally, people consistently write to say how much they love it and/or are grateful to Hallmark for airing it. Whether those same folks are as vocal as the "Little House" watchers who were pretty outraged when the channel yanked those airings unexpectedly a while back, I really can't say.
I also always found it odd TBAA was the only show never to really get two airings a day - or when it did, it was short-lived. And yet IT gets pulled whilst the others, who already had multiple airings, get MORE airings.
Hmmm. This significantly affects how we do our retro look back at TBAA this summer ... I was planning on using the re-runs as a way to highlight the best episodes.
Guess I'll have to do it from memory, now. LOL!
Why has Hallmark done this? I agree with LillyKat that TBAA never got to be aired more than once a day while so many other shows on the channel did get to be seen twice. So they cancel TBAA to give more of the already airing shows more time?!?! It makes no sense. I will be looking elsewhere for my entertainment.
Hallmark,
please bring back touched by an angel.
There isn't much to watch on TV anymore.
And you take one of the few good family friendly shows off the Air?
I am disappointed in this decision by the Hallmarks Executives.
They are going to lose viewers with this new lineup.
Yes, please bring back Touched by an Angel! Some people don't get uplifted by Reverend Camden and his twelve children or "Ma an Pa" everyday. It's just one hour a day, five days a week! Is that too much to ask! Some of us need angels in our lives! Bring them back!
I don't follow TBAA so I don't know what had been scheduled, but according to DirecTV's Guide TBAA is scheduled for June 1, 2, 3, 4 (the last date currently in the Guide) on the Hallmark Channel at 12:00 PM.
When I look at Hallmark's website for TBAA I see it scheduled every weekday for May and June (the only months shown) except Memorial Day.
When is the show supposed to be dropped?
Aww, thanks John for inquiring. :-)
Some channel guides are running behind on being updated with Hallmark's latest change to their schedule (which is, actually, becoming like a chronic disease since they are not sticking to one particular schedule these days).
TBAA hasn't been running at 12 p.m. since this past Thursday (5/21). My Cox Cable DVR guide wiped out all the future airing for this coming week.
Weekdays starting Thursday, 5/21 the schedule is supposed to be this:
8:00am The Golden Girls
8:30am The Golden Girls
9:00am The Golden Girls
9:30am The Golden Girls
10:00am The Golden Girls
10:30am The Golden Girls
11:00am I Love Lucy
11:30am I Love Lucy
12:00pm I Love Lucy
12:30pm I Love Lucy
1:00pm I Love Lucy
1:30pm I Love Lucy
2:00pm 7th Heaven
3:00pm Little House on the Prairie
4:00pm Little House on the Prairie
5:00pm M*A*S*H
5:30pm M*A*S*H
6:00pm M*A*S*H
6:30pm M*A*S*H
7:00pm M*A*S*H
7:30pm M*A*S*H
8:00pm The Golden Girls
8:00pm The Golden Girls
9:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
11:00pm Murder, She Wrote
12:00am The Golden Girls
12:30am The Golden Girls
1:00am The Golden Girls
1:30am The Golden Girls
2:00am Cheers
2:30am I Love Lucy
Saturdays
6:00am Little House on the Prairie
7:00am Little House on the Prairie
8:00am Little House on the Prairie
9:00am Hallmark MOVIE
11:00am Hallmark MOVIE
1:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
3:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
5:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
7:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
9:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
11:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
1:00am I Love Lucy
1:30am I Love Lucy
2:00am I Love Lucy
2:30am I Love Lucy
Sundays
8:00am Little House on the Prairie
9:00am Little House on the Prairie
10:00am Little House on the Prairie
11:00am Hallmark MOVIE
1:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
3:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
5:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
7:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
9:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
11:00pm Hallmark MOVIE
1:00am I Love Lucy
1:30am I Love Lucy
2:00am I Love Lucy
2:30am I Love Lucy
As you can see, there is just a lot of duplication and/or repetition. It still remains somewhat puzzling to so many fans - not just BAA folks - as to why Hallmark has done this. I'd have to say this is their least desirable schedule. It has no variety. And in all their changes, they never once yanked TBAA until now, sooo ... I don't get it given the show's popularity AND Roma Downey is on the channel in two weeks in a brand new movie FOR Hallmark.
However, knowing Hallmark, this could all change AGAIN next week. LOL!
That is a very bizarre schedule. I can understand running two episodes of a half hour show back to back to make up a hour block, but Golden Girls and I Love Lucy account for about 9 – 10 hours a day on weekdays.
The only thing I can think of is they are getting a real good real on the fees they have to pay for these shows. But it still seems extreme.
I am back again.
According to Hallmark's new schedule for TBAA it is off the air from May 21 and returns June Monday June 29.
This seems to be new data. I hope for you that it is accurate.
Thank you, John! Looks like Hallmark has posted this to the monthly schedule on the TBAA page of their Web site, so perhaps all will be right again in Angel land.
Of course, Hallmark could still yank it, but this is encouraging!
Appreciate you giving the heads-up!
what Now?!!
they've pulled Touched By An Angel AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SHOW TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL I WON'T BE WATCHING YOUR NETWORK.
PUT IT BACK ON AND LEAVE IT IN A TIME SLOT, STOP MOVING IT ALL OVER THE PLACE AND YANKING IT ARBITRARILY!
WHY SO MUCH LUCY?
HER SHOW DOESN'T WARRANT THAT MUCH AIR TIME.
january 3,2011 where's tbaa gone again. please bring it back.
Bring back TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL
I've seen enough I Love Lucy in my childhood&lifetimme..so plz bring back TBAA...it made my day when pn those days when I was feeling down...plz bring it back...
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