‘Commander in Chief’ joins iTunes

ABC has added another of its hit shows, the first-year drama “Commander in Chief,” to the roster of TV series available for download onto an iPod.

As of Tuesday, all nine episodes of the show, in which Geena Davis plays the first female president of the United States, are available on Apple’s iTunes service. New episodes will pop up the day after they run on ABC; the show is scheduled to return to the air Tuesday, Jan. 10.

As will all other TV offerings on iTunes, episodes cost $1.99 each.

“Commander in Chief” is the third ABC series to join the iTunes list, following “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” The network’s parent, Disney, also offers three Disney Channel shows, while NBC Universal has placed several of its current shows, clips from “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and past shows like “Knight Rider” on the service.

The series is the most-watched new show of the season, drawing an average of about 14.7 million viewers per week.

– Zap2it.com

Joining iTunes could conceivably help bring some younger viewers to “Commander in Chief,” which skews somewhat older than ABC’s other big hits.

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“24′ CAST KEEPS GROWING

A pair of Broadway veterans will step away from the stage and into the world of counterterrorism on the upcoming season of “24.”

Jayne Atkinson, a two-time Tony Award nominee, and Tony winner Stephen Spinella are the two latest additions to the Fox series, which premieres Jan. 15. They join a sizable list of newcomers to the show for season five, including Sean Astin (“The Lord of the Rings”), Jean Smart (“Frasier”), Connie Britton (“Spin City”) and Peter Weller (“RoboCop”).

“We feel lucky to be working with so many great actors,” executive producer Howard Gordon says. “Each of these newcomers, as well as the previously announced cast additions, will help deliver the thrill ride “24′ fans have come to expect.”

Atkinson, currently appearing in “Syriana,” will play a “heavy-handed” Homeland Security official named Karen Hayes. She and her associate, Miles (Spinella), are dispatched to CTU to clean up a situation.

Season five of “24” picks up 18 months after the events of last season, with the presumed-dead Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) leading a new life under a different name with a single mother (Britton) and her teenage son (Brady Corbet). Soon, though, Bauer is drawn back into his former life.

Atkinson earned Tony nominations in 2000 and 2003 for her work in the plays “The Rainmaker” and “Enchanted April.” Her credits also include “Free Willy” and “The Village.”

Spinella was in the Broadway cast of “Angels in America” and won two Tony Awards for the two parts of the epic play. On screen, he’s appeared in “And the Band Played On,” “Great Expectations” and “House of D.”

Atkinson and Spinella have acted together in the past: They appeared in a production of “Our Town” that was filmed for Showtime and had recurring parts on the CBS series “The Education of Max Bickford.”

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SPENCER’S DEATH WILL FORCE CHANGES ON “WEST WING’

The death of “West Wing” star John Spencer last week will likely force a revision of the show’s storyline for the rest of the season, but the producers are understandably not concerned with that yet.

Spencer, 58, who won an Emmy in 2002 for his role on the NBC series, died Friday after suffering a heart attack. He would have turned 59 Tuesday.

“The West Wing” is on a break for the holidays and will resume production in January. Nine episodes have aired thus far this season, and a spokesperson for Warner Bros. TV, which produces the show, says Spencer completed work on two others before the break (14 episodes have finished filming overall).

Spencer’s character, Leo McGarry, has been a key part of the unfolding election story in the show this season. The former White House chief of staff is running for vice president on the Democratic ticket of Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and will be front and center in an episode scheduled for Jan. 8, when Leo debates his Republican counterpart.

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AP-NY-12-20-05 1631EST