ABC game show, 'Masters of Sci Fi' get premiere dates

ABC is cleaning out its programming closet, giving summertime runs to a pair of projects that were initially scheduled to run last season.

The game show "Set for Life," which way back when was slated to air in the fall, will finally premiere on Friday, July 20. Two weeks after that, on Saturday, Aug. 4, the anthology series "Masters of Science Fiction" will hit the airwaves for a four-week run.

ABC has also scheduled a brief return for the plastic-surgery version of "Extreme Makeover" in July.

When ABC announced its 2006-07 schedule a year ago, it had "Set for Life" filling an hour on Tuesdays after the fall run of "Dancing with the Stars." Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the show offers contestants a chance to win a monthly check for the rest of their lives, ranging from a few bucks to thousands of dollars.

Instead, ABC marked time with holiday specials and "America's Funniest Home Videos" on Tuesdays until "Dancing" returned in the spring. It also tried another game show, the William Shatner-hosted "Show Me the Money," on Wednesday nights.

"Masters of Science Fiction," from the same producers of Showtime's "Masters of Horror," was initially considered for midseason. ABC ordered six episodes but now plans to air only four, in the TV dead zone of Saturdays at 10 p.m.

There's no word yet on which four installments will air. The hour-long shows feature adaptations of stories by the likes of Robert Heinlein, Harlan Ellison and Walter Mosley; actors taking part include Terry O'Quinn ("Lost"), John Hurt ("V for Vendetta"), Anne Heche ("Men in Trees"), Judy Davis ("The Starter Wife"), Sam Waterston ("Law & Order") and Malcolm McDowell ("Heroes").

"Extreme Makeover" will return for three weeks starting Monday, July 2. ABC aired one episode of the show in the fall, then pulled it after it recorded weak ratings.