Analysis of FOX's New Fall Schedule

Television Upfront week ended on Thursday with the unveiling of the new fall schedules for both the CW and FOX, and while I watch zero shows on the CW (as I've previously said, ever since the former WB canceled Jack & Bobby, I've given up on the network) the FOX announcement was intriguing, both for their new shows, and to see where some of their old ones would end up. The highlights:

** Prison Break remains 8:00 Monday, which means I likely won't be watching much of How I Met Your Mother in its regular slot. Prison Break ended with a great finale this year and I can't wait to see where the producers take the show from here. 24 will return to Monday nights, 9:00, in January of 2008, and those producers are promising to give the show a face lift, including potentially eliminating CTU, which is fine with me. 24 needs a tuneup after this very sub-par season.

** Back To You, the only comedy I'm looking forward to this year will debut at 8:00 Wednesday in the fall. With Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton playing bickering news anchors, it should be a hilarious show.

** The other show I'm looking forward to, Julianna Margulies staring as a criminal defense attorney in Canterbry's Law, will debut in January, but will be broadcast in an absolutely killer 9:00 Thursday timeslot against CSI, Grey's Anatomy, and The Office. It likely will be unable to gain any traction there, as the male demographic will be watching The Office and CSI and women, who may want to watch to see a strong female lead, will be watching Grey's Anatomy. I'll check it out, but I don't like its chances in that timeslot.

Analysis of CBS's New Fall Schedule

CBS continued TV Upfront week on Wednesday by releasing their 2007 fall schedule, which featured some good and bad news for my viewing habits. I'll skip the night-by-night analysis (because I don't watch much of CBS and honestly don't have much to say about three versions of CSI and the majority of CBS' fall schedule) but I still have some thoughts on the shows on CBS I do (or did) watch.

First, as for shows "on the bubble" that I watch on a fairly regular basis, Jericho and How I Met Your Mother, I went 1-2, with HIMYM returning to its 8:00 Monday home, while Jericho ended up on the chopping block, canceled. I'm glad HIMYM is returning, as I think it is one of the smartest comedies on TV right now, and I think the show could go in a very interesting direction next year now that Ted and Robin have broken up. I don't watch it as much as I should (I usually am watching Prison Break) but I'll do a much better job next year of catching up on CBS online.

As for Jericho, I wrote about my love of Jericho in my Top 5 Shows to Save For Next Season post, but I'm not surprised it was canceled. The ratings just weren't there, and it was a dark story (fighting off starvation and rival towns after a nuclear attack and loss of all electricity is not what makes for an uplifting fun story). But, the show felt real, which was part of its charm, and it did go out on a high note, with a very emotional, very strong season (or, as it turned out, series) finale. It ended with a cliffhanger (of course) so we'll never know what happened to the town of Jericho, and whether it was able to fight off rival town Newburn, or if the Army came to their rescue. Overall, though, it was a solid season, a solid series, and I'm glad I watched.

As for what shows will be on CBS' schedule, the biggest shakeup (at least as far as my viewing habits are concerned) is Shark's move. Thankfully, though, it will not be moving to Tuesday's to compete with Boston Legal. Instead, it moves to Sunday at 10:00 perfect timing for me, as I have no other shows to watch at that time (outside of NFL football during the fall). What was curious, though, was that CBS chose not to put a new drama after CSI in Shark's old spot, 10:00 Thursday, but a veteran drama, Without a Trace. Now, Without a Trace has been successful in that spot in the past, and maybe with ER weakened and ABC showing a new, untested (but promising drama) Big Shots in the time period, CBS feels it can take over with an established show.

Otherwise, Survivor going to China should be interesting, as a new geographic locale may be just what the show needs to come back to come back to life ratings wise. CBS's new shows, including Vampire drama Moonlight, Jimmy Smits' family drama Cane, and the musical drama Viva Laughlin just aren't doing it for me. Maybe I'll check one or two out, but probably not.

Only the CW (which I really don't care about) and FOX (with some interesting pilots to place on the schedule) to go.

Analysis of ABC's New Fall Schedule

ABC announced their new fall schedule today (Tuesday) and there are lots of new shows to get excited about, and come the fall, ABC is definitely going to be the network I am watching most. The network has quite a few hit shows coming back next season (Lost will return at mid-season, adding to the depth and strength of the network) but there were still some questionable moves made by the network in their fall scheduling. So, let's take a look with a night by night analysis as I did for NBC's new fall schedule.

MONDAY:
8:00 Dancing with the Stars
9:30 Sam I Am (new comedy)
10:00 The Bachelor

I likely won't be watching ABC much on Monday, as the only new show on the agenda is the new Christina Applegate comedy "Sam I Am" where Applegate stars as a coma patient who awakens with amnesia and soon realizes she wasn't a very nice person in her former life. Sounds decent enough, but I'm not a Christina Applegate fan, and surely not enough to not watch Heroes. And with all of ABC's great new dramas, including those saved for midseason (like Victor Garber's Eli Stone), they couldn't find anything better to show at 10:00 then the Bachelor? That decision, and the age and over-exposure of CSI potentially hurting CSI NY, means NBC's Journeyman may have a good shot to make it in the 10:00 Monday time period.

TUESDAY:

8:00 Cavemen (new comedy)
8:30 Carpoolers (new comedy)
9:00 Dancing with the Stars Results Show
10:00 Boston Legal

Cavemen, for those unfamiliar, is an adaptation of the Geico commercials. This thing is going to be a disaster for two reasons. First, while the caveman concept is funny in a thirty second spot, it doesn't work so well in a thirty minute comedy. Second, the actor from the commercial won't be in the television show. It seems like a small thing, but when you are trying to make a go of a comedy as absurd as the Geico Cavemen, to not put the only known (and well liked) caveman in the show, is just absurd. I'm sure the actor knew this and held out for a lot of money, but if they are going to try this, they needed everything to go right, and not signing the original actor is a big strike against a very questionable show to begin with.

And why would ABC not try to protect its new comedies by placing them after the highly rated Dancing With The Stars Results Show? I love Boston Legal, but it has proven this year that it doesn't benefit a whole lot from the DWTS lead-in (especially in the 18-49 demographic) and one would think the new comedies would need all the help they can get. Except, no, the comedies have to find their own audience, and the same show which squandered its large rating lead-in this season gets a chance to do the same next year. Sort of confusing. But, I love Boston Legal, so I'm not complaining.

WEDNESDAY:

8:00 Pushing Daisies (new drama)
9:00 Private Practice (new drama)
10:00 Dirty Sexy Money (new drama)

Should be the most interesting night for ABC. Trying out three brand new dramas all on the same night is really risky, but all three of these shows could be breakout hits. Pushing Daises, a dramedy about a man who can bring people back to life, is getting all the media buzz and everyone who has seen the pilot says it is a can't miss. The Televisionary Blog, for example, raved about it.

Pushing Daisies, in short, is the rare television show that actually changes the way you look at television, a dazzlingly lush production that seems more at home as a big budget feature film (think Big Fish and you've approximated the look) filled with charmingly eccentric folk whom you can't wait to meet up with again.

Private Practice, I think, will succeed where other recent spinoffs (like Joey) has failed. The cast (Kate Walsh, Merrin Dungey, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, and Amy Brenneman) is top rate, Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice) is a great storyteller, and as I said before, the show has the potential to be more mature, less melodramatic, and certainly less annoying (in a bad way, not in an endearing way) then Grey's Anatomy.

Dirty Sexy Money, as I've previously talked about, also has the potential to be a big show. Peter Krause was great on Sports Night (and people who watched said the same about Six Feet Under) and Donald Sutherland is a phenomenal actor as well. The show, where Krause stars as an idealistic lawyer representing a famous and controversial wealthy family, sounds like it could be a really good concept, and I'm very much looking forward to the show.

THURSDAY:

8:00 Ugly Betty
9:00 Grey's Anatomy
10:00 Big Shots (new drama)

So the show I've talked most about, Big Shots, get placed in the big shot timeslot, right after Grey's Anatomy. And with ER fading, and CBS likely to debut a new drama after CSI, the timeslot is very much up for grabs. The buzz on the Big Shots pilot has been uneven (most like the cast but didn't love the pilot as much as the initial offerings of Pushing Daisies or Dirty Sexy Money) but with the cast the show has, I think it has a very good chance at being successful, and launching after Grey's Anatomy is a good sign. It will also, though, mean added expectations, and perhaps less patience by the network should ratings struggle at the start, so here's hoping the show lives up to (or exceeds) the initial hype.

FRIDAY:

8:00 Men in Trees
9:00 Women's Murder Club (new drama)
10:00 20/20

SATURDAY:

8:00 Saturday Night College Football

SUNDAY:

7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 Desperate Housewives
10:00 Brothers & Sisters

I don't have much to say about these three nights, other then to say I likely won't be watching any of the shows (though the new Women's Murder Club does star the great Angie Harmon) and even though I used to say, when Alias was on, that I would watch any show Ron Rifkin was in, Brothers & Sisters is not for me.

Overall, a strong schedule, as three or four of ABC's new dramas I think could be breakout hits. Their comedies, including Cavemen, are more questionable, and the scheduling of them (and the placement of the Bachelor on Mondays) is interesting (to say the least), but if Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money, and Big Shots live up to their potential, ABC could be the network to watch in 2007.

Analysis of NBC's New Fall Schedule

Fully Updated with night-by-night analysis on 5/15: I would have posted this earlier, but while the upfronts are great, and this week, for the television fan inside of me, is what the NFL Draft is for the football fan inside of me, I still had 24 and Heroes to watch (thank God for DVR) and I got a bit behind in my blog posting. But my night-by-night anlaysis of NBC's lineup is finally posted. But, first, for those keeping score at home, 24 continued to be mediocre, while Heroes continued to be, well, amazing television. I'm looking much more forward to next week's Heroes season finale then the 24 two-hour season finale, but, as usual, I'll probably DVR Heroes and watch 24. But, maybe not. Okay, but onto more important things, like NBC's Fall 2007 schedule.

NBC kicked off television "upfront" week on Monday by announcing their 2007 fall television schedule which introduces four new dramas (Life, Chuck, Journeyman, and The Bionic Woman) and shuffles a few of their current shows. The least shocking news? Studio 60 was canceled (but more on that at the end of the week). To get a better idea of what each new show is going to be like, Joe from I Am A TV Junkie put together a YouTube reel of a clip from each of the new shows.

Now, to the night by night analysis of NBC's new fall schedule.

MONDAY:
8:00 Deal or No Deal
9:00 Heroes
10:00 Journeyman
Not much of a surprise that Deal or New Deal and Heroes stay in their respective, successful spots. They were two of the shows which actually worked on NBC this year. And Heroes will get an additional bump with 6 episodes of a "spin off" (of sorts), called "Heroes Origins", which will introduce new potential heroes, and based on the votes of fans on NBC.com, at least one of the 6 will become part of season three of Heroes, a potentially interesting concept. As for new drama Journeyman, I'm not sold.
Journeyman
The show is about a man who lost his fiancé in a plane crash, and then years later, he starts traveling back through time, sometimes to help others, sometimes (apparently) to rendezvous with his now-dead fiancé. I think I liked the show better when it was called Quantum Leap and even more so when it became The Pretender and Early Edition all of which have storylines similar to that of Journeyman. Not to say it couldn't be good (Quantum Leap was a great show, there's a reason why there have been so many shows with similiar plotlines) it just isn't original, and I don't really think I'll have motivation to watch. Though, as it turns out, because ABC is not broadcasting "Big Shots" against it, I may actually tune in th first few episodes. Maybe I'll change my tune.

TUESDAY:
8-9 pm The Biggest Loser
9-10 pm CHUCK
10-11 pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Chuck, to me, seems like a strange show to me. Here's the description from NBC:

Chuck Bartowski is just your average computer-whiz-next-door. He spends his days working for Buy-More with his band of nerdy cohorts, longing to find a woman who can appreciate him. But when an old friend, who happens to be a CIA agent, sends Chuck a mysterious encoded email, the world's greatest spy secrets are embedded into his brain.

He never asked to become the government’s most powerful weapon, but the fate of the country suddenly lies in his unlikely hands. Hopefully, this won’t take away from his video game time! International terrorist plots, sexy spies and cold pizza – it’s all in a day’s work for our trusty hero...Chuck.

At first, it sounds really silly to me, but from the television critics that have seen it, they think it's pretty funny. I watched the full preview on NBC.com and it wasn't as bad as I expected.

WEDNESDAY
8-9 pm Deal or No Deal
9-10 pm BIONIC WOMAN
10-11 pm LIFE

The remake of the Bionic Woman, a seminal show from the 1970s, seems to be getting a lot of the critical buzz, Life is the show I am looking most forward to on the NBC schedule. Life is a show about a police officer who was wrongly convicted of murder, spent 13 years on Death Row, and then, when the truth came out, worked a job as a police detective into his monetary settlement with the city that put him in jail.
Life
Sounds like a dark show, but the preview looked really good. And it has a great cast. Adam Arkin, who has had some great guest spots the last few years on West Wing and Boston Legal, stars as a cellmate turned friend-on-the-outside to Damian Lewis' Charlie Crews, and Lewis' partner is the incredibly beautiful Sarah Shahi, so hard to complain about that. I've been a fan of Shahi since she played Bradley Cooper's reporter friend Jenny on Alias back in 2001, so it's nice to see her back on network TV. I'll definitely be giving this show a chance.

THURSDAY
8-8:30 pm My Name Is Earl
8:30-9 pm 30 Rock
9-9:30 pm The Office
9:30-10 pm Scrubs
10-11 pm ER

NBC keeps their Thursday lineup the same, for the most part, and like I did this year, I'll probably skip it, catching up on Scrubs on DVD in a few years. I know people like The Office, but I just never got into it, and I don't like Alec Bladwin or Tracy Morgan, so I never got into 30 Rock either.

FRIDAY
8-9 pm 1 vs 100/THE SINGING BEE
9-10 pm Las Vegas
10-11 pm Friday Night Lights

Keeping Las Vegas on Friday makes sense because, for Friday, on a night with lower ratings as it is, Vegas is a solid performer. And I've written about before Tom Selleck will replace James Caan which should add an interesting dynamic to the show. As for Friday Night Lights, while I'm glad the show is coming back, because I want to have a chance to watch it, and everyone who has watched it raves about it, I wish they would have held it back until midseason. Placing it on Friday makes sense, because it doesn't need to do huge ratings on Friday to be successful, I don't know if it makes sense to put a show about high school football on when your target audience (either from the high school players themselves or from their parents) is actually at real live high school football games. I did read an article somewhere which talked about how perhaps the FNL audience is too old to be playing high school football but young enough to nostalgic about it and not have kids to watch playing. Maybe that's right. We'll see.

SATURDAY
8-9 pm Dateline NBC
9-11 pm Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
7-8 pm Football Night in America
8-11 pm NBC Sunday Night Football

Not much to see here, or say.

So, overall, NBC came into the upfronts as a 4th place network, and I honestly don't see much to change things. Maybe The Bionic Woman will be a big hit, but I'm not sure it will be. I think Life and Journeyman (especially because it is following Heroes and the 10:00 Monday time period, outside of CSI NY, is open right now) have a shot. But, otherwise, it may be same old, same old for a network which desperately needs to be new again.

More TV Upfront Buzz as Monday Approaches

NBC officially kicks of "TV Upfront" week starting on Monday, and given it's the weekend before the 2007 fall television schedules will be unveiled to the public (and more importantly, the advertisers), rumors, speculation, and mock schedules are floating around all over the place. Shows thought to be shoo-ins for places on the fall schedule (like ABC's Marlowe) are being axed at the last minute due to budget issues and other shows may make it on the air or may make it another season (like NBC's Scrubs) despite conventional wisdom being they may be finished. I've added a 2007 TV Upfronts category so all of the posts over the next few days (and my pasts posts like the Top 5 Shows to Save for Next Season).

So what is the latest news on some of of the pilots I've been hoping make it to air and some of the latest scheduling buzz?

**NBC: The good news is, for fans of some of NBC's "on the bubble" shows, two shows which were very much in danger of being canceled are being brought back for next season. On Friday, work leaked that Scrubs was being brought back for a seventh and final season and earlier in the week Friday Night Lights was also returning for its second season. I like both shows, but I'll be honest, I don't really watch either of them. Scrubs I watched when it first came on the air, then for whatever reason (probably because it was scheduled against another show I watched) and now I catch up on the DVD season sets as they are released (Season Five is released in a few weeks). Friday Night Lights I always wanted to watch, and I'm hoping to catch up over the summer.

According to Pilot Buzz Central which has been monitoring the advertiser chatter from the upfronts, NBC may move Friday Night Lights to Fridays at 8:00, which to me, doesn't make a lot of sense. While the show didn't do that well in the ratings Tuesday's at 8:00, putting a show, about high school football, on at a time when high school football is being played (thus a large segment of the interested audience isn't home to watch) is puzzling. I understand NBC has had success with similar family-friendly dramas in the past on Friday nights, but I think given the choice between a drama about high school football and real high school football, most will choose to go to their local high schools. As for the rest of NBC's rumored schedule, I don't know a lot about their pilots (I've read the synopsis for them, they sound very strange, a lot of science-fiction elements to them) but there are quite a few new shows on the horizon (The Bionic Woman, Life). Once I learn more about them on Monday, I'll see if they sound any better.

** ABC: ABC presents on Tuesday, and I've already talked quite a bit about Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice, and the formerly named Perfect Gentlemen (previous to that it was called Bedrooms & Boardrooms, now its titled "Big Shots", which while better then Bedrooms & Boardrooms, is probably not as good as "prefect Gentlemen". The good news is, all three received series orders according to The Futon Critic.

Over on the newcomer side, the dramas include the much-ballyhooed "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off "Private Practice," two series from "Brothers & Sisters" executive producer Greg Berlanti ("Dirty Sexy Money," "Eli Stone") and efforts from "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star ("Cashmere Mafia"), "Reunion's" Jon Harmon Feldman ("Big Shots"), "Heroes'" Bryan Fuller ("Pushing Daisies") as well as a small screen take on James Patterson's book "Women's Murder Club."

And on the comedy front, there's the equally-ballyhooed "Cavemen," based on the Geico commercials, along with the Christina Applegate-led "Sam I Am" and Bruce McCulloch's ensemble "Carpoolers."

Yes, you read that right, there's going to be a show about the Gieco Cavemen living in Atlanta while dealing with prejudice as people look down on them, because, well, they are cavemen. That is either going to be a disaster or a huge success, and absolutely nowhere in between. And Eli Stone's pickup (it looks as if it will be a midseason replacement) makes Alias almuni 3-3 on ABC as Victor Garber stars as a lawyer in Eli Stone, joining Merrin Dungey (Private Practice) and Michael Vartan (Big Shots). With Ron Rifkin (Brothers & Sisters) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes) on other hit shows, the Alias family tree is doing very well at the moment (now all we need is Terry O'Quinn's Locke to survive on Lost and we are all set).

According to Pilot Buzz Online's ABC schedule rumors, it looks like Dirty Sexy Money will be on at 9:00 Tuesday's leading into Boston Legal, and Big Shots may get the coveted post Grey's Anatomy slot, Thursday's at 10:00, with Private Practice on 9:00 Wednesdays. All of those time slots work with me, and don't conflict with other shows that I watch (if Shark moves, as is rumored below), so I'd be happy with that. ABC looks to have a really strong schedule right now.

** CBS: Like with NBC's pilots, because I've been so interested in ABC's pilots, I haven't read much about CBS' new offerings. Though it does look like How I Met Your Mother will return for another season (I need to start doing a better job watching that on CBS Online because it's a funny show but I always watch Prison Break instead 8:00 Mondays). And still no word on whether Jericho will return. One thing which does bother me is that Pilot Buzz Online has Shark moving to 10:00 Tuesdays, which just be frustrating. There aren't too many courtroom dramas on TV to start with (especially with Law & Order being endangered at the moment) and for the two strongest, Shark and Boston Legal, to go head-to-head, that isn't good for either show, and will be frustrating for me as a fan of both shows. Even though both are courtroom dramas, they have such completely different tones (light for Boston Legal, dark for Shark) but both can succeed as shows. I'm not sure if they can against each other though.

** FOX: The only show I'm really looking forward to here is the Kelsey Grammar/Patricia Heaton news anchor comedy "Back To You." It's supposed to be hilarious and both Grammar and Heaton are very very funny. Otherwise, Prison Break in the fall and 24 in the winter, and that's FOX (at least to me). Maybe I should start watching House because everyone loves it, but I watch enough shows as it is and there are enough good pilots to keep me busy next year.

** The CW: I don't watch or care about the CW. Ever since they canceled Jack & Bobby a few seasons back, the only show in the history of the network (going back to when it was the WB and UPN) I liked, I tend to stay away.

Aside from the links I've used in my analysis above (Pilot Buzz Online, Kristen at E-Online, website The Futon Critic) there are a few other places to be checking out in the next week as the pilots and schedules are unvelied. Zap2It has a great message board with all sorts of news, as does Mediaweek's Program Insider. TV Guide also has their own pilot blog, and The Televisionary Blog also has good anlaysis.

Potentential ABC Schedule Sent to Advertisers

According to "Proud Boy", a prominent poster at the Zap2It television message boards, who has been on top of all of the fall pilot buzz, a potential fall schedule (the final version will be revealed next week at the Fall Upfronts) is reporting tonight that a potential final version of ABC's fall schedule has been sent to advertisers. As I've talked about in previous posts about the upcoming fall television schedule and the pilot buzz I'm very intrigued by the ABC schedule because of the numerous pilots I really like (the Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, Perfect Gentlemen, and Dirty Sexy Money among them). Here's what the rumor is ABC sent out:

MONDAY
Dancing with the Stars
Sam I Am
Marlowe

TUESDAY
Dancing with the Stars
Dirty Sexy Money
Boston Legal

WEDNESDAY
Pushing Daisies
Private Practice
October Road

THURSDAY
Ugly Betty
Grey's Anatomy
Football Wives

FRIDAY
The Middle
Miss/Guided
Men in Trees
20/20

SATURDAY
College Football

SUNDAY
America's Funniest Home Videos
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Desperate Housewives
Brothers & Sisters

PRE-SCHEDULED REPLACEMENTS
Notes from the Underbelly (Mondays after DwtS)
Perfect Gentlemen (Mondays after DwtS)
Lost (Tuesdays in January)
Oprah Winfrey's Big Give (Tuesdays after DwtS)

MIDSEASON
The Bachelor
Cashmere Mafia
Cavemen
Eli Stone
The George Lopez Show
The Knights of Prosperity
Supernanny
WifeSwap

Not having seen the pilots, it is hard to really analyze the potential schedule, but I like the fact that the three pilots I really liked are all either on the schedule in the fall (or in the case of Perfect Gentlemen, will be before the start of the new year). Since, at least from the cast list and pilot description, I think I'll like Perfect Gentlemen more then the other pilots, it is disappointing that the show is being held back until after Dancing With the Stars completes its fall fun. I don't mind Lost's move to Tuesday (I don't watch much on Tuesday aside from Boston Legal anyway) and the Grey's Anatomy spinoff 9:00 Wednesday makes a lot of sense. And I think even though it seems a lot of people around the internet didn't like the spinoff episode, I think Private Practice is going to be pretty successful. We'll see on Tuesday how close to reality this schedule is.

Monitoring The Latest TV Pilot Speculation

The 2007 fall television schedules for the major broadcast networks will be unveiled next week in New York, but those fans of particular projects and for the men and women who may be getting the call that their series is going to be picked up, it is going to be a nerve-wracking seven days. I've already written about the top 5 TV shows to save for next season (1 vs 100, Studio 60, Jericho, How I Met Your Mother, and Friday Night Lights) and wrote about some of the most promising fall pilots, at least in their early stages, but now we are getting down to the decision making time.

I'm a creature of habit, and for new fall TV shows, the first pilots I look at (and give a second look even when the plots don't sound all that great) are ones which star actors and actresses I've seen and liked in other shows. Peter Krause, who stars in Dirty Sexy Money, for example, was Casey McCall on the perennially underrated Sports Night. While I never watched HBO's Six Feet Under, on which Krause starred for the past many years, it'll be good to see Casey McCall back on ABC again. We just need to do something to get Dan Rydell (or as he's known in real life, Josh Charles) back on TV. And whatever happened to Sabrina Lloyd, who played the cute and spunky Natalie on Sports Night? She had a great series of episode on NBC's Ed (one of my favorite all time shows) and was on CBS' Numbers for a while, but not much lately.

Similarly, Perfect Gentlemen has a cast full of familiar faces. Michael Vartan from Alias, Nia Long, who I remember from Fresh Prince of Bel Air when I was a kid, but is probably more famous for her movie roles, Sports Night and West Wing almunus Josh Malina (that's 2 for 2 for those keeping track at home -- Maybe that's why Studio 60 failed, unlike every other Aaron Sorkin project, Studio 60 was sans Malina) and The Practice star Dylan McDermott (speaking of, the first season and a half of The Practice comes out on DVD next month, about time). And the Grey's Anatomy spinoff stars all sorts of recognizable people from Prison Break's Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), Day Break's Taye Diggs, and Alias' Merrin Dungey.

And, as it looks, some of these pilots I talked about back in March are actually gaining traction. According to TV website Zap2It, Dirty Sexy Money, Perfect Gentlemen (which was titled 'Bedrooms & Boardrooms' when I talked about it in March), and the Grey's Anatomy spinoff, now titled Private Practice' all look good for ABC's schedule

Among the apparently surer things to land spots on the 2007-08 schedule are ABC's drama "Dirty Sexy Money" [which] stars Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under") as the harried lawyer for a wealthy family; the cast also includes William Baldwin, Samaire Armstong, Jill Clayburgh and Donald Sutherland, and tonally sounds like it might be a good fit with shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Grey's Anatomy."

ABC also reportedly likes [. . . ] "Perfect Gentlemen," starring Michael Vartan and Josh Malina, among others; The "Grey's" spinoff "Private Practice" also stands a decent chance.

The Hollywood Reporter also says that Perfect Gentlemen is "proceeding with high-level staffing" which is "a sign that the show might be joining the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff on the schedule next season."

And, a word on the Grey's Anatomy spinoff, now that the Grey's episode/spinoff pilot has aired and I've had a chance to watch it. First, I'm not ashamed to admit I watch Grey's Anatomy, although, as I've said before, it can get rather annoying at times. In fact, there is a great article on MSNBC which talks about the show's popularity among male viewers.

All right, everybody, take your seats. I hereby call to order this meeting of the “Dudes Who Watch “Grey's Anatomy” support group. Grab some beer and pretzels and settle in.

Hold up — guys watching “Grey’s”? Shouldn’t we be using our barely opposable thumbs to flip between “The Sopranos,” “24” and hockey? Nope. If you think “Grey’s” is only for the ladies, you’re even more wrong than Izzie and George’s drunken hook-up. Believe it or not, more than 6.4 million men tune in each week. That’s more people — men and women combined — than watch just about anything on the CW.

But bring it up at softball practice, and watch the men scramble for cover. Because of “Grey’s Anatomy’s” overwhelmingly — and, frankly, undeserved — feminine reputation, you’d be hard-pressed to find a guy who’ll admit to tuning in. So I’ll go first.

In fact, the Addison led spinoff has the potential to be everything I enjoy about Grey's Anatomy (the smart and clever writing, the strong story telling, great acting) without the annoyances (anything having to do with Meredith, anything that looks like Dawson's Creek in a hospital setting). The cast is top-rate (even though they wasted , in the spinoff episode, in a guest shot, David Anders, who played the evil Sark on Alias. He was in the same scenes with Merrin Dungey, who he both killed and then teamed up with (sounds strange, but that was Alias), and there was no Alias-esque reunion, a definite missed opportunity) and the show, with older, more mature characters, can be a more mature show without the melodrama which annoys me about Grey's Anatomy.

We'll know for sure in a week what's in and what's out, and I'm sure I will be posting a lot about these shows (and some others) then.

Top Five Television Shows to Save for Next Season

With the 2006-2007 television season nearing an end, shows getting closer to May sweeps and the inevitable shocking twists around the corner, it is time to consider what the future may hold for the 2007-2008 television season. What follows is a list of the top five shows I think deserve to come back next season. Some of these shows are on the fence, some are likely safe, and at least one is all but dead. But, they are five solid shows, and here's why each should return next season.

5. 1 vs 100, NBC: Yes, the list starts off with a game show. But an addicting one. As Marc Berman, ratings guru over at Mediaweek, continually pointed out, the show picked up quality ratings on Friday nights (a tough night for any show to get great ratings) and it is much improved from its debut. Sure, its questions are a bit cheesy, but Bob Saget is a really good host, and I love the concept.

4. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, NBC: Sure, the show has been very disappointing. It has Aaron Sorkin, genius behind A Few Good Men, The American President, Sports Night, and of course, The West Wing. It had the best actor from The West Wing (Brad Whitford), the best actor from Friends (Matthew Perry) and a tremendous overall cast. It never really worked though. And the ratings are anemic. Yet, even though there is practically no chance it returns next season, I think ti should. There is too much talent there, both from an acting and writing perspective, for the show to stay bad for very long.

I'll have a full post on just why Studio 60 failed after NBC officially cancels it (because I do have my theories) but hopefully we can put that off at least another season. Because I really do think that if Aaron Sorkin gets a second chance, he won't let the pitch go by.

3.) Jericho, CBS: I've had a lot of mixed feelings on Jericho. When I watched the pilot this summer, before the television season had started, I didn't like it. Especially compared to the great opening outings from ABC's The Nine (was wrong on that one) and the aforementioned Studio 60 (ditto) which I thought were destined to be hits. The idea was an interesting one. How a small town would function in the shadow of a nuclear attack on U.S. soil, detached from all outside contact with the world (and, as the show quickly added, without electricity). I didn't like the pilot because it was just so depressing. Depressing subject matter. Depressing pilot episode. But, I gave it a shot at the start of the season, and I was hooked. The show was well acted, the stories were well told, and the characters were compelling. Especially the character of Robert Hawkins, played by Lennie James. You just wanted to know what he was up to, whether he worked for the government trying to stop the bombs from going off, or whether he was one of the attack's masterminds. Last week's episode seemed to answer that question (he was working for the government after all, or, at least he thinks he was) and how the season has unfolded has been great television. Interestingly, the ratings tell a different story. While at the start of the year, Jericho was one of the highest rated new fall shows, it has subsequently dropped off the map, perhaps proving my initial inclinations of the show's dark nature. Even with the ratings slide, though, the show should come back for a second go-around, and hopefully, in so doing, we'll learn a bit more about what has been going on in the outside world, outside the confines of Jericho, Kansas.

2. How I Met Your Mother, CBS: I'm not ashamed to admit I like the show fans call HIMYM. And, coincidentally (or not), it's the second time Bob Saget makes the list (he's the narrator on the show). HIMYM is practically the only comedy I watch (aside, of course, from Seinfield repeats) but that's probably more a function of the sad state of television comedies than anything. And that slowdown in great comedies is exactly why HIMYM needs to stick around. It's wickedly smart, Niel Patrick Harris has mastered the art of being obnoxious without being annoying and while being funny (a rare accomplishment), and how can you not be a big fan of Cobie Smulders, who plays Robin?

Plus, we haven't met Ted's future wife yet, so to cancel the show, without explaining, well, "How I Met Your Mother" just wouldn't be right. And while it may not get the ratings of other comedies, like the incredibly overrated Rules of Engagement (why again do people think David Spade is funny?) it's funnier, and that should count for something.

1. Friday Night Lights, NBC: And last but certainly not least is Friday Night Lights. Just a great show. And according to Kristen at E-Online, a second season looks very good right now for Friday Night Lights.

"Absolutely," coach Kyle Chandler said, when asked about the prospects of a second season. "I have no doubt."

The cast has good reason for positive thinking. They'd just received word that NBC ordered six more scripts of Friday Night Lights for next season. And while that's not a full, 22-episode season yet, it's obviously a step in the right direction. "The script order is a show of goodwill from the studio saying that they are still really interested in the show, and they want to see what the breaking stories look like," Scott explained. "And hopefully, they bring us back. We wanna be around for a very long time."

And I'll be honest, while I really liked the first few episodes of the season, and quickly became a big Minka Kelly fan, and have been a Kyle Chandler fan since his Early Edition show on CBS some years back, I have not watched regularly this season. I want to make up for that next year when the show is renewed, and hopefully catch up this summer if and when the show is released on DVD. The book was phenomenal, the movie was great, ad the TV show, from what I've seen, and from what everyone else who has seen the show says, is just as good. And I want a chance next year to make up for my mistake in not watching as regularly as I should this season, and I feel like I am not the only TV viewer to feel that way.

A Look Ahead to Television Pilot Season

While my first love is sports, there's no doubt that a lot of my "free" time is spent watching television and reading about the television industry. I watch a lot of shows regularly (too many some would say) but despite that, I'm always looking for new shows to watch. Which is why I love this time of year, when word starts leaking out about next fall's potential new shows. It's pilot season, where plotlines and casting decisions of these potential shows are announced and buzz begins to build.

It's so hard to predict which shows are going to make it on the air (much less be successful when they get there) just based on a cast and basically the general theme or idea for the show. If predicting success were that easy, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip would be the highest rated new show of the year and Rules of Engagement wouldn't have lasted more than one or two weeks on the air. Instead, despite a brilliant writer and cast, Studio 60 is unlikely to survive the season (a topic for a future post, because Studio 60's failure is one of my most disappointing TV moments of the year) and Rules of Engagement despite the incredibly overrated and unfunny David Spade, is one of the highest rated new comedies of the season.

Even when pilots are released online, its so hard to guess what the general public is going to attach themselves to on a weekly basis. I was able to watch many of this fall's pilots during the summer and despite being a pretty plugged-in TV observer (to use a bad pun) what I thought would be successful wasn't. I thought, for example, that ABC's The Nine was one of the best pilots I've ever seen. It was edgy, had great actors (like Wings' Tim Daly, 24's Kim Raver, and Boston Public's Chi McBride), a great overarching and compelling story, and great characters. It was a colossal failure, despite having Lost as a lead-in. That was disappointing. I also thought ABC's Traveler, about two college students framed for the bombing of a popular art museum by their college roommate, was well done. The mystery about who this roommate (who they thought was named Will Traveler) really was and why he would commit such an act and frame his roommates was really interesting. ABC, though, has seemingly forgotten about the show, and according to TV website Zap2It, won't premier the show until the end of May, which certainly does not bode well for its chances of being a success.

So, with all of that said, let's take a look at some of the more promising pilots based on their plot descriptions and cast. By the way, the best website to examine all of the pilot information is The Futon Critic, one of the best all around television sites out there.

Bedroom and Boardrooms, ABC, Drama: The show follows four CEO's (or about to be CEO's) and has one of the best casts of the fall season. Three of the four CEO characters are actors from some of my favorite past shows (Dylan McDermott from The Practice, Michael Vartan from Alias and Josh Malina from The West Wing and, of course, Sports Night). Malinia one of televisions most underrated actors and the show also stars Nia Long, who is a great actress. She just had a guest stint on Boston Legal and I was hoping she was going to join the cast of that great show, but should this show make it to air, that works too.

Grey's Anatomy Spinoff, ABC, Drama: I'm not ashamed to say that I watch Grey's Anatomy from time to time (it's not my favorite show, and there's a lot I don't like about it, but it's better than a lot of other TV shows out there) but the reason I like this potential spin-off is the cast. Aside from Kate Walsh's Addison Montgomery, Alias alum Merrin Dungy, Prison Break's Paul Adelstein (he plays Agent Kellerman on Prison Break), Daybreak's Taye Diggs (another show which should have made it, but didn't), and Amy Brenneman (I never watched Judging Amy but I remember her from guest staring on Frasier and always thought she was really attractive) will all be in the show. I don't know if I'll like the plot and tone of the show, but the cast is really strong.

Interesting Legal Pilots: There are also a number of legal shows in the pipeline, which is very encouraging. Over at ABC, Victor Garber (of Alias fame and the short-lived but well-produced Justice) takes another turn as a lawyer in Eli Stone and Donald Sutherland the Peter Krause (from Sports Night fame) star in Dirty Sexy Money about an idealistic lawyer who represents a rich New York family. The great Julianna Margulies is in a pilot at FOX where she plays the title character in Cantebury's Law where she plays a tough defense attorney.

It should only get more interesting as the weeks go on and pilots are produced, and word begins to trickle down about which pilots will make it to air. It does seem though that there are some very promising shows in the pipeline, which is good news for TV fans.