The Fall Season Day By Day

The upcoming TV season looks like it's going to be an interesting match-up between the networks. The 2006-07 season had a lot of interesting shows – in fact may have had more quality that we see most years – but it was also a season when viewers of broadcast TV rejected the new and TV executives were quick – maybe too quick – pull shows out of their line-up. It was the year that rejected the serial as executives found themselves in vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophecy: people were holding off on watching recorded episodes of new shows out of fear that they'd be cancelled and networks were cancelling those shows because people weren't watching (because they were afraid they'd get into a show only to have it cancelled). Even reality shows like The Apprentice took a hit, leading a Canadian TV critic to suggest that the days of the reality completion show are over.

And what of this season? It looks like network executives are finally wising up over things like serials, and hiatuses which kill the momentum of series. CBS is putting on some very "un-CBS" shows and pushing the envelope a bit. NBC is going the soft "sci-fi" route with three of their four dramas. The CW is returning to its roots with a serious youth movement on its schedule. ABC is continuing with its "relationship drama" shows that proved fairly successful last season while having lots and lots of material in reserve. And FOX? Well FOX is giving us a schedule of two halves, thanks in no small part to Baseball and Football.

Let's take a look at the schedule day-by-day (New shows capitalized).

Sunday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
7:00-7:30	America`s Funniest Home Videos	60 Minutes	The OT (NFL Post-Game)	Football Night in America	CW NOW
7:30-8:00	America`s Funniest Home Videos	60 Minutes	The OT (NFL Post-Game)	Sunday Night Football	ONLINE NATION
8:00-8:30	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	VIVA LAUGHLIN	The Simpsons	Sunday Night Football	LIFE IS WILD
8:30-9:00	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	VIVA LAUGHLIN	King Of The Hill	Sunday Night Football	LIFE IS WILD
9:00-9:30	Desperate Housewives	Cold Case	Family Guy	Sunday Night Football	America's Next Top Model (encore)
9:30-10:00	Desperate Housewives	Cold Case	American Dad	Sunday Night Football	America's Next Top Model (encore)
10:00-11:00	Brothers & Sisters	Shark		Sunday Night Football

CBS is showing their colours when it comes to different sorts of shows with Viva Laughlin, the musical drama based on the BBC series Blackpool (incidentally, Tim Gueguen wondered about Hugh Jackman appearing on TV – slumming as Tim put it; his participation isn't surprising given the fact that he's one of the Executive Producers of this show). I'm not sure how the series will do against the triple threat of heart-warming reality, dysfunctional animated people and football. CBS doesn't have preview reel of this so it's going to be a bit of a surprise. As for the CW, setting aside CW Now and Online Nation for the moment, Life Is Wild (which is shot in South Africa) looks like it is definitely going to be the 7^th Heaven and Everwood sort of family drama that the network likes and will undoubtedly be a favourite of groups like the PTC (not that it's necessarily a bad thing that they like a show). I think it could be a real hit – at least by the standards of The CW.

Monday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
8:00-8:30	Dancing With The Stars	How I Met Your Mother	Prison Break	Deal Or No Deal	Everybody Hates Chris
8:30-9:00	Dancing With The Stars	THE BIG BANG THEORY	Prison Break	Deal Or No Deal	ALIENS IN AMERICA
9:00-9:30	Dancing With The Stars	Two and a Half Men	K-VILLE	Heroes	Girlfriends
9:30-10:00	SAM I AM	Rules Of Engagement	K-VILLE	Heroes	The Game
10:00-11:00	The Bachelor	CSI Miami		JOURNEYMAN

Three new comedies on the night and amazingly the most interesting of them may be on The CW. Aliens in America looks far interesting than either the Stacked retread The Big Bang Theory or ABC's Sam I Am. That show sort of sticks out between Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor. I can't really come up with much enthusiasm for NBC's Journeyman but it should finish second in its time slot. The new drama K-Ville may be the night's rookie success if FOX gives it more than a couple of episodes to show its stuff. NBC is taking an interesting approach to the "hiatus problem" by effectively extending Heroes to 30 weeks with the Heroes: Origins mini-series that focuses on characters not in the main continuity. Are people going to stay tuned to episodes that don't feature characters they know?

Tuesday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
8:00-8:30	CAVEMEN	NCIS	NEW AMSTERDAM	Biggest Loser	Beauty & The Geek
8:30-9:00	CARPOOLERS	NCIS	NEW AMSTERDAM	Biggest Loser	Beauty & The Geek
9:00-10:00	Dancing With The Stars	The Unit	House	CHUCK	REAPER
10:00-11:00	Boston Legal	CANE		Law & Order: SVU

Last year ABC threw a number of comedies at viewers and the viewers threw them right back. Their two comedies on Tuesday are effectively "male-bonding" shows with Carpoolers looking less dreadful than Cavemen – but not by much. FOX's New Amsterdam looks vaguely intriguing, but knowing FOX executives, I have the feeling that it's going to be a show that if you blink you'll miss it. I have the same sort of feeling about Chuck – the idea is interesting (and I've always liked Adam Baldwin) but I can't see it thriving against House, the Dancing With The Stars recap show or even The Unit. Expect a fast exit. On the other hand Cane may finally solve the problem CBS has had with the third hour of Tuesday nights since they ended Judging Amy in 2005. In the two years since they've tried six different series (Close to Home, Threshold, Love Monkey, The Amazing Race, Smith and 3 Lbs.) in that time slot and inevitably ended up airing repeats of their procedurals. Cane is a revival of an old format but it just might work.

Wednesday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
8:00-8:30	PUSHING DAISIES	KID NATION	BACK TO YOU	Deal Or No Deal	America's Next Top Model
8:30-9:00	PUSHING DAISIES	KID NATION	`Til Death	Deal Or No Deal	America's Next Top Model
9:00-10:00	PRIVATE PRACTICE	Criminal Minds	Bones	BIONIC WOMAN	GOSSIP GIRL
10:00-11:00	DIRTY SEXY MONEY	CSI New York		LIFE

On general principle I hope that Kid Nation dies a swift and well deserved death and not just because CBS cancelled Jericho after mishandling that series' hiatus (repeat after me – extended hiatus bad). The preview reel seen look horrible and pretentious. In a way that I can't explain it reminds me of that horrible "boot camp" series that ABC had a couple of summers ago. I'm really hoping for good things from the two NBC series – the revival of The Bionic Woman and Life which look like the best new shows the network has this year. ABC is taking a big chance by making Wednesday a night of all new shows. They don't give us much to judge by with their clip for Pushing Daisies, but it's in a fairly weak time slot, before CBS, NBC and FOX deploy their heavy hitters so I don't know what to expect as far as ratings. You could call Private Practice a semi-known quality since we've seen the pilot (badly) integrated into an episode of Grey's Anatomy. On the one hand it's going up against two established shows but on the other hand it is different enough from the other shows that it could find an audience. The same rationale applies to Dirty Sexy Money – different enough from the shows around it to be able to find an audience. I just don't know how well the audience for Private Practice will transition into Dirty Sexy Money.
The CW's Gossip Girl could also find a niche. It's a throwback to the sort of teen angst series that The WB was famous for.

Thursday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
8:00-8:30	Ugly Betty	Survivor	Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader	My Name Is Earl	Smallville
8:30-9:00	Ugly Betty	Survivor	Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader	The Office	Smallville
9:00-9:30	Grey`s Anatomy	CSI	KITCHEN NIGHTMARES	30 Rock	Supernatural
9:30-10:00	Grey`s Anatomy	CSI	KITCHEN NIGHTMARES	Scrubs	Supernatural
10:00-11:00	BIG SHOTS	Without a Trace		ER

Thursday is the arguably the most competitive night on TV, but it's also the most stable night; there are only two new shows in the line-up. If we're going to be brutally honest Kitchen Nightmares is just a placeholder until after the baseball playoffs end. The only other change is the return of Without a Trace on CBS in an effort to drive a stake through the heart of ER. Meanwhile with Big Shots ABC is continuing its recent trend of "relationship dramadies" – typified by shows like Men In Trees, October Road, Brothers and Sisters and coming later in the 2007-08 season Cashmere Mafia. The show has a good male cast but the clip on the ABC website doesn't tell us much about the show except for a telling last line: "Men. We're the new women!"

Friday

	ABC	CBS	Fox	NBC	The CW
8:00-9:00	Men In Trees	Ghost Whisperer	THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND	1 vs. 100/THE SINGING BEE	WWE Smackdown
9:00-10:00	WOMENS MURDER CLUB	MOONLIGHT	NASHVILLE	Las Vegas	WWE Smackdown
10:00-11:00	20/20	Numb3rs		Friday Night Lights

CBS continues its new trend of doing shows that aren't what we've come to expect from CBS with Moonlight. The story of a vampire detective might have a relatively smooth transition from Ghost Whisperer but is it a good fit for Numb3rs? I have the same feeling about how well Women's Murder Club coming out of Men In Trees. Women's Murder Club may or may not work as a series – the one clip ABC has given us frankly looks a bit lacklustre – but it doesn't seem like a show that will build well off of Men in Trees.
NBC is taking a big risk by moving Friday Night Lights to Friday Night. It is one of the best shows on TV but it doesn't do much good if it can't find an audience. Is the audience younger people – Friday is "date night" for a lot of them – or people who are interested in high school football – who will be at high school football games at least until the end of November. As for FOX, they seem to be hoping they'll hit pay dirt a second time with the American Idol format with their news Search For The Next Great American Band. As for Nashville, the premise might have been good for a drama series but unfortunately this isn't a drama series. I think it will get beaten by the dramas on the Big Three networks and maybe even by The CW's perennial Wrestling show.