Video Links for the New Shows

Later today or tomorrow (hopefully) I'll be writing a night-by-night review of the shows that the US broadcast networks will be rolling out in September. I've got grids and everything, thanks to Microsoft One Note. Of course to properly evaluate a network's chances on a particular night you have to at least have an idea of what their shows, and in particular their new shows, are going to look like.

It is of course hard to evaluate a new show based on a few clips, and the feedback that you get from any comments sections for a particular show – if there is one – is frequently of the "this sucks" or "looks great" variety,. In other words not particularly useful.

Fortunately we have the Internet (and of course none of you wouldn't be reading my meanderings if we didn't) to allow us an advanced look. Each of the five networks has clips available, some more than others. ABC's site has the worst clips (and as the old joke goes, such small portions too) while the clips on Fox are probably the hardest to get to. Here are the links:

ABC Click the title of the show. Each show site has one or two clips for the show.

CBS The network has clips on their InnerTube section but also has links in their Fall Schedule grid. The link here ties to their "Bloggers Toolkit."

FOX Click on "New Series" then click on the title of the show to bring up a page about the show. In most cases there will be a see clips from this show link on the page. The videos start after an ad.

NBC Click on the New Shows tab and then on the show that you want to see clips of. There are clips for Journeyman, Chuck, The Bionic Woman and Life.

The CW There are a variety of paths from this point. Clicking the Sneak Peek Videos link will take you to the video site and will automatically start the first video for Reaper. Alternatively you can click the Full Schedule link at the bottom of the main image on the page. This will take you to the network schedule (presented in a typically bizarre CW manner). Clicking on the show title will take you to a site for that show which has a Watch Preview link in it (in most cases).

While all of the networks have video clips from their new shows available online there are only two networks – CBS and NBC – that have gone the extra mile to have clips available to be embedded on websites. NBC has put their shows' preview reels YouTube, while CBS has their Bloggers Toolkit section which allows bloggers to embed a link for a show's preview reel (it needs a little modification before it will be acceptable though). I'm including video from two NBC shows and one CBS show that look like they might be worth taking a look at. There's a quid pro quo going on her of course. The networks not only get free promotion for their shows when people like me put their material on our sites, but while we get content the networks that provide the content earn more than a little bit of respect from people using the material.

First up is the preview reel from the new version of The Bionic Woman. There's a very familiar face from another revival of another late '70s classic.

Next something from another NBC show that I'm really enthused about, Life, starring Damien Lewis and Sarah Shahi.

Finally, from CBS comes a preview of Cane, CBS's new drama in the style of Dallas, starring Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo.

The CW's Fall 2006

Finally (and I delayed this not because the CW was late in putting it out, but because I was thoroughly exhausted today) we have the CW’s line-up, and yes I know, no Veronica Mars. There’s slight hope for something though...but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Cancelled: Gilmore Girls, Reba, Runaway, Seventh Heaven, All Of Us, Veronica Mars.

Renewed: Everybody Hates Chris, America's Next Top Model, The Game, Smallville, Supernatural, WWE Smackdown, Girlfriends, Pussycat Dolls: The Search for the Next Doll.

Moved: Beauty & The Geek.

New: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, Aliens in America, Gossip Girl, Reaper, Life is Wild, Online Nation, CW Now, Farmer Wants Wife.

In addition One Tree Hill is being held until midseason to allow the producers to make a significant creative change – advancing the storyline by four years. Online blogs and diary postings will keep update fans on the “college years” of the show’s characters leading to the show’s eventual return. Also, while Veronica Mars is listed as cancelled, there were statements from the CW Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff of discussions with series creator Rob Thomas and series star Kristen Bell about doing “something else” but that it seemed unlikely. Michael Ausiello of TV Guide asked about Thomas about it and was told that “No one has talked to me about a new, non-Veronica project. All my writers have been offered jobs elsewhere, and I believe they will now all accept these jobs. Very, very, very sad day around the VM offices. I assume that anything Dawn would be talking about in the realm of a Rob-Kristen project would involve a new from-scratch pilot as they don't have me in a deal, and they'll lose Kristen in a couple of weeks." In other words it sounds as if the show is dead.

Complete Schedule (all times Eastern):

Monday
8:00-8:30 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris
8:30-9:00 p.m. ALIENS IN AMERICA
9:00-9:30 p.m. Girlfriends
9:30-10:00 p.m. The Game

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Beauty & The Geek
9:00-10:00 p.m. REAPER

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model
9:00-10:00 p.m. GOSSIP GIRL

Thursday 8:00-9:00 p.m. Smallville
9:00-10:00 p.m. Supernatural

Friday
8:00-10:00 p.m. WWE Smackdown

Sunday
7:00-7:30 p.m. CW NOW
7:30-8:00 p.m. ONLINE NATION
8:00-9:00 p.m. LIFE IS WILD
9:00-10:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model (Encore)

The CW’s one new Comedy is Aliens In America High school student Justin Tolchuck’s (Dan Bird) is a bit of an outsider at his school. When his mother Franny (Amy Pietz) signed her family up for an international exchange student program, she imagined an athletic Nordic teen who would bestow instant popularity on her son. What she got was a Pakistani Muslim named Raj Musharaff (Adhir Kalyan), who doesn’t exactly fit in to Medora Wisconsin. Still the boys form a strong if unlikely friendship. Also stars Patrick Breen and Lindsey Shaw.

The Reaper stars Bret Harrison as Sam, a guy who can’t understand why his mom (Allison Hossack) and dad (Andrew Airlie) went so easy on him while always pressuring his younger brother Keith (Kyle Switzer) to excel. At least not until the day he turns 21, when he meets his new boss – Satan (Ray Wise). Seems Kyle’s parents sold his soul before he was born and now it’s time to give the Devil his due. Kyle’s new job is to find evil souls who escape the Devil and return them to Hell. With the aid of some of his buddies (played by Tyler Labine, Rick Gonzalez, and Valarie Rae Miller) and a different vessel every week to hold the souls of the damned (starting with a Dirt Devil vacuum) Sam actually feels a sense of job satisfaction.

The mysterious blogger Gossip Girl knows everything that goes on amongst the privileged prep schools of the upper east side of Manhattan. So when Serena Van Der Woodsen (Blake Lively) returns from self-imposed exile in a boarding school, Gossip Girl knows. She also knows about the tension that has developed between Serena and her BFF Blair (Leighton Meester) and is determined to find out the source, whether it’s boyfriends, parents, or people on the outer edge of the clique of privileged teens.

CW Now is an Entertainment Tonight style program created to be a source for “everything that's hip, hot and happening right now in the world of young adults” – what the network modestly calls “The CW Generation.”

Online Nation is another response to the “CW Generation’s” habits – this time the posting of blogs and user generated materials. As the press release puts it, “This fun, irreverent weekly series features everything and anything that has captured the attention of the online world, from the most popular sites to the addictive viral videos being shared by millions, to insights from the digital tastemakers. Born of the internet and tailored specifically for this generation, this series also features an innovative interactive element as viewers will be able to see what others are saying and communicate with them live on the air. The CW is turning mouse potatoes into couch potatoes by putting all the greatest internet clips in one ready-to-use package.”

When Danny Clarke (Brett Cullen) decides to leave his comfortable New York veterinary practice to spend a year at the ramshackle Blue Antelope Lodge in South Africa, his blended family – second wife Jo (Judith Hoag) daughter Katie (Leah Pipes), son Chase (K'sun Ray), stepson Chase (Andrew St. John) and stepdaughter Mia (Mary Matilyn Mouser) – are appalled. But there’s more to Danny’s decision than just wanting to work with South Africa’s wildlife – Danny’s first wife grew up at the Blue Antelope Lodge and her reclusive father Art (David Butler) still lives there.

Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants is a reality-competition series focussing on mother-daughter teams preparing to participate in a beauty pageant. Each week the teams face challenges preparing them for the final pageant in which the mother-daughter team that wins will “receive a valuable prize package, including a $100,000 cash award, and, of course, a fabulous pair of tiaras.”

In Farmer Wants Wife, which is based on a British show of the same name, brings a hard working farmer who has everything except a little romance in his life together with ten city women who have had it (they think) with the hustle and bustle of city life – not to mention the bad dates. But is farm living the life for them?

Comments:
Aliens In America seems emblematic of the youth oriented direction The CW is taking in its programming. It’s inevitable that the Tolchuks wouldn’t get a “Nordic teen” who would make Justin popular – that wouldn’t be funny. The question is whether the network will be brave enough to deal with the post-9/11 reaction to Muslims and people who look like they could be Muslims. I’m betting that they aren’t going to deal with the subject much, if at all.

The first reaction a lot of people seem to have had to Reaper is to remark about how much it resembles an older series, Brimstone, which aired on FOX. This is undoubtedly true – I never saw Brimstone and I picked up on the connection almost immediately – but since so many people loved the original, is that such a bad thing? Maybe it is since The CW seems to be playing it “light and youthful” on this one too.

Gossip Girl seems to be another one of those efforts to take something trendy and make it the basis for a series. At its heart a low order mystery – why are Serena and Blair on the outs – it seems like a series like Beverly Hills 90210 or a Dawson’s Creek where the mystery of Serena and Blair, not to mention “Gossip Girl’s” true identity is merely an excuse to inhabit the world of Manhattan’s privileged youth culture.

CW Now is the model for everything the CW wants to stand for - hip, hot and happening. I just wonder if they can pull it off. I doubt it.

Online Nation is a show that I’m rather intrigued by. Not that I’m the target demographic of the show or that interested in a lot of the things that this show is trying to examine. I’m just fascinated that the CW is willing to try the sort of thing that is more likely to be found on some obscure cable channel somewhere (think G4). Of course given the CW’s relative ratings position, they’re probably grasping at any straw they can get their hands on.

Life Is Wild is quite clearly The CW’s effort to put a sensitive family drama on the air in light of the ending of 7^th Heaven. The obvious comparison though is to Everwood – a man moves his family to a remote area because of the death of his wife. Whether it can draw enough viewers to become the sort of hit (even in CW terms) is the big question.

I’ve never liked beauty pageants. Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants not only deals with beauty pageants but with beauty pageants that deal with kids which takes it even lower on my list of things to watch.

Framer Wants A Wife. Here’s an idea for a series: a farmer meets, falls in love with and marries a woman from the city who finds it difficult to adapt to life in the country. You could run it as a comedy or a drama or even a “dramedy.” Instead The CW is making it a reality show in the style of ABC’s The Bachelor. I won’t be watching.

FOX's Fall 2006

Here's what FOX is doing with their schedule this year. As always, remember that FOX's line-up is (how shall I put this) schizophrenic. Things change in January with the end of football and the debut of 24 and American Idol. Beyond that FOX seems to be a number of series on a short term basis, with the end of the short term occurring in January. And of course all of the changes go by the wayside come the first cancellation of the year. Which since this is FOX will undoubtedly come quickly.

Cancelled:
The Winner, Standoff, Drive, The War at Home, The O.C., Justice, Happy Hour, The Rich List, Vanished, The Wedding Balls, The Loop.

Renewed:
Prison Break, American Dad, American Idol, Family Guy, House, The Simpsons, 24, King Of The Hill, `Til Death, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

Moved:
Bones (come January)

New: (Shows debuting in January are marked with a 'J') The Sarah Connor Chronicles (J), K-Ville, New Amsterdam (J), Back To You, Kitchen Nightmares, The Search For The Next Great American Band, Canterbury's Law.

Also, FOX has yet to announce the status of Trading Spouses and Nanny 911. The Return of Jezebel James, Anchorwoman, and The Rules for Starting Over were also announced but without a definite time slot.

Complete Schedule: (Changes in January as noted)

Monday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Prison Break (January: Prison Break/K-VILLE)
9:00-10:00 p.m. K-VILLE (January: 24)

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. NEW AMSTERDAM (January: American Idol)
9:00-10:00 p.m. House

Wednesday
8:00-8:30 p.m. BACK TO YOU
8:30-9:00 p.m. `Til Death
10:00-11:00 p.m. Bones (January: American Idol)

Thursday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader
9:00-10:00 p.m. KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (January: CANTERBURY'S LAW)

Friday
8:00-9:00 p.m. THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND (January: Bones)
9:00-10:00 p.m. NASHVILLE (January: NEW AMSTERDAM)

Saturday
8:00-8:30 p.m. Cops
8:30-9:00 p.m. Cops
9:00-10:00 p.m. America`s Most Wanted

Sunday
7:00-8:00 p.m. The OT (NFL Post-Game) (January: The Simpsons followed by King of The Hill)
8:00-8:30 p.m. The Simpsons (January: Family Guy)
8:30-9:00 p.m. King Of The Hill (January: American Dad)
9:00-9:30 p.m. Family Guy (January: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES)
9:30-10:00 p.m American Dad

K-Ville is a new cop drama set in New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina. Centered around the NOPD's Felony Squad, the series follows Detective Marlin Boulet (Anthony Andrews) a tough brash in your face cop who stayed at his post during the hurricane while his former partner deserted. Boulet's new partner is Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser) a veteran of the war in Afghanistan before he joined the police. He has trouble with Boulet's rule-breaking style, but he has his own dark secret which drew him to New Orleans seeking redemption. Also stars Maximiliano Hernandez, Blake Shields, Tawny Cypress and John Carroll Lynch.

New Amsterdam was the Dutch name for what eventually became New York City and it's fitting for this new series. John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster Waldau) was a Dutch soldier in the town of New Amsterdam in 1642 when he stepped in from of sword to save the life of an Indian girl. In return she used an ancient spell to confer immortality on him until he "finds his one true love" which has turned out to be a blessing and a curse as he becomes increasingly isolated. Amsterdam's one confidant is club owner Omar (Stephen Henderson) who has a few secrets of his own. Then one day Amsterdam experiences what looks to just about everyone to be a fatal heart attack – a sign that his true love is near. Zuleikha Robinson and Alexie Gilmore also star.

Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton return to TV in Back To You as Chuck Darling and Kelly Carr, a local TV news team who had real chemistry on screen even if off-screen he was an egotistical womanizer and she was an uptight know-it-all. Eventually Chuck got the call to move out of the Pittsburgh market to a bigger town, but after a tirade then wound up on the Internet he found himself back in Pittsburgh hoping to revive the old onscreen magic with Kelly. Josh Gad, Fred Willard and Ty Burrell co-star.

Kitchen Nightmares keeps Gordon Ramsay on American TV screens. This is an American version of Ramsay's British hit where he attempts to revive ailing restaurants. Expect to hearthe phrase "Get off your lazy arses!" at least once per episode.

The Search for the Next Great American Band pretty much says what it is in its title – unknown bands from a variety of genres compete to make it big.

Nashville is described as a "high-stakes, high-drama docu-soap set in 'the biggest small town in America.'" According to the press release the diverse young cast is "perched on the cusp of achieving their greatest successes in a town that can make you or break you.... Behind every song there's a story waiting to be told, and there are many such stories in Nashville."

Julianna Marguilies stars in Canterbury's Law, a series created by Dennis Leary and Jim Serpico, as Elizabeth Canterbury, a rebellious female defense attorney willing to bend the law and put her career on the line to protect the wrongly accused. After relocating to Providence Rhode Island with her Law professor husband Matthew (Linus Roache) following the disappearance of their young son, Elizabeth's work frequently provides a stark reminder of the justice that is missing in her life. Also stars Ben Shenkman, Jocko Sims and Trieste Dunn.

The story of Sarah Connor after the events in Terminator 2 are told in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Sarah and her 15 year-old son John take the offensive against the evolving technological enemy bent on destroying the world. John finds himself drawn to Cameron (Summer Glau) who soon assumes the role of John and Sarah's fearless protector. Richard T. Jones appears as James Ellison, a tough intelligent FBI agent who is pursuing the Connors but is also an ally.

Comments:
K-Ville sounds like it has some dramatic potential although there's something a little uncomfortable about doing a series about a city that has been devastated by a natural disaster.

New Amsterdam has more than a bit of a fantasy-science fiction air to it, although the premise has a cop-romance angle to it. How much do you want to bet that (a) there'll be flashbacks to his life before the present day in most episodes in the style of Highlander and that (b) his true love will turn out to be the female doctor who discovers his heart attack?

Back To You looks like it could be a real winner thanks to an absolutely amazing cast. It does have an Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy feel to it, but is that necessarily a bad thing since it has Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton instead of Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate?

I'm a Gordon Ramsay fan, and if Kitchen Nightmares is anything like the British show it was based on it should at least give us a more balanced perception othe guy. My big problem with the show is that FOX seems to be basically throwing it away on a night they can't win.

The Search for the Next Great American Band? American Idol redux. And haven't other networks tried this already?

Nashville: a "docu-soap?" Here's an idea – why not do a nighttime soap with real actors and plotlines that you can control based on the premise that you're trying here? Oh wait, that's what Robert Altman did in his Nashville. You know, the one that's light years better than this is going to be.

In reading the plot summary for Canterbury's Law I can't help feeling as though I've seen this all before. It has a touch of In Justice about it but there's another quality that I can't put my finger on that makes it a bit different. Could work.

I'm not sure we really need a series set in the world of Terminator although it's always nice to see Summer Glau in a show. The difficulty as I see it is that we're seeing the middle of the story trapped between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 meaning that there's no real hope that John and Sarah (and Cameron and James) can have any effect on the eventual outcome – can win any real victory. I won't be accepting bets on whether "Cameron" turns out to be some new version of a Terminator sent by John to protect himself and his mother in this period.

CBS's Fall 2007

Here's what CBS has done with its schedule. Of all the networks this is likely the one with the least need to be adjused short of some slight tinkering.

Cancelled:
3 LBS., Smith, King Of Queens , Close To Home, Jericho, The Class, Armed & Famous

Renewed:
Survivor, 48 Hours Mystery, 60 Minutes, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Numb3rs, Two and a Half Men, The Unit, Cold Case, Rules Of Engagement

Moved:
Shark, Without a Trace

New:
Viva Laughlin, The Big Bang Theory, Kid Nation, Moonlight

In addition Amazing Race, New Adventures of Old Christine, and a new series Swingtown are being held as mid-season replacements.

Complete Schedule: (New shows in Capitals, except NCIS)

Monday
8:00-8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30-9:00 p.m. THE BIG BANG THEORY
9:00-9:30 p.m. Two And A Half Men
9:30-10:00 p.m. Rules Of Engagement
10:00-11:00 p.m. CSI: Miami

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00-10:00 p.m. The Unit
10:00-11:00 p.m. CANE

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. KID NATION
9:00-10:00 p.m. Criminal Minds
10:00-11:00 p.m. CSI: New York

Thursday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Survivor
9:00-10:00 p.m. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10:00-11:00 p.m. Without A Trace (Moved)

Friday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9:00-10:00 p.m. MOONLIGHT
10:00-11:00 p.m. Numb3rs

Saturday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (Reruns)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (Reruns)
10:00-11:00 p.m. 48 Hours: Mystery

Sunday
7:00-8:00 p.m. 60 Minutes
8:00-9:00 p.m. VIVA LAUGHLIN
9:00-10:00 p.m. Cold Case
10:00-11:00 p.m. Shark (Moved)

The Big Bang Theory is a comedy about a group of brainy but socially awkward CalTech whiz kids, centered on Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) whose world is turned upside down when their new neighbour moves in. Her name is Penny (Kaley Cuocco) a newly single screenwriter/waitress who doesn't know anything about quantum physics. Produced by Chuck Lorre who is also the producer of Two And A Half Men.

An epic family saga Cane is the story of the Vega's, a wealthy Cuban-American family. Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo) built the family sugar and rum business into an empire and when his chief rival offers to buy up the family cane fields allowing the company focus on the rum business, his natural son Frank (Nestor Carbonell) is enthusiastic while his adopted son Alex (Jimmy Smits) is suspicious. Also stars Eddie Matos, Rita Moreno, Michael Trevino, Lina Esco, Sam Carman, Alona Tal, and Polly Walker.

Kid Nation is a reality based show featuring kids between the ages of 8 and 15. Forty kids will spend forty days building their own society in a 19^th Century ghost town, including cleaning their own outhouses, hauling their own water and even running their own businesses – like the saloon (selling root beer). Four leaders will be elected to pass laws, set bedtimes and generally guide the group through their adventure. Every episode will feature a town meeting where issues will be discussed. There are no eliminations but any kid can decide to quit at any town meeting just by raising their hand. From producer Tom Forman who created Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Created by movie producer Joel Silver, Moonlight is the story of a private detective named Mick St. John, who just happens to be a vampire. Converted 60 years ago by his new bride Coraline (Amber Valletta) Mick is disgusted with what he's become and has made the conscious choice to help the living with the aid a few undead confidantes, some of whom – like Josef (Rade Serbedzija) – can't be entirely trusted. At the same time he has fallen in love with reporter Beth Turner and fears that if he reveals his true nature to her she will see him as a monster.

Based on the BBC series Blackpool (known in the United States as Viva Blackpool for reasons known only to Americans), Viva Laughlin is described as a drama with music. Freewheeling businessman Ripley Holden (Lloyd Owen) is on the verge of making a killing but only if his not nearly finished casino in Laughlin Nevada opens. When his financing falls through though he is forced to make a deal with his enemy Nicky Fontana (Hugh Jackman). And when the body of his former business partner is found at his club, Ripley becomes embroiled in a police investigation. And that doesn't even touch on what's going on at home with his wife (Madchen Amick), his daughter (Ellen Woglom) and his son (Carter Jenkins).

Swingtown, which is being held as a midseason replacement, is a period piece set in the 1970s. When Susan (Molly Parker) and Bruce (Jack Davenport) move to an affluent Chicago suburb their expectations of get-togethers with their new neighbours over the barbecue are definitely expanded! They quickly discover – thanks to their new neighbours Tom and Trina Decker (Grant Show and Lana Parilla) that people in this neighbourhood share more than a view of Lake Michigan, all of which is way too much for Susan's conservative best friend Janet (Miriam Shor), although her husband Roger (Josh Hopkins) may be way more interested than he cna let his wife know.

Comments:
Does the plot synopsis of Cane sound vaguely familiar? As in substitute oil fields for sugar cane fields and you suddenly have Dallas familiar? That said the show looks to have a great cast and may plug a hole on Tuesday nights that has been hurting CBS since Judging Amy went off the air. It all depends on whether it can draw an audience from Law & Order SVU and Boston Legal.

Kid Nation sounds like a kids' version of Survivor and it sounds absolutely horrible. For this they cancel Jericho?! Hopefully the plug will be pulled quickly on this one and we can get The Amazing Race back sooner rather than later.

Setting aside the double entendre title, The Big Bang Theory looks to be another solid addition to the CBS comedy line-up, a line-up that's strong enough to be able to sit a relatively successful show like New Adventures of Old Christine out until mid-season. The premise vaguely resembles the Pamela Anderson comedy Stacked with the difference that rather than casting an over inflated blow-up doll they have the blonde daughter from Eight Simple Rules which might be enough to make the difference.

There's a sense of déjà vu in Moonlight for anyone who remembers the old CBS "Crimetime after Primetime" series Forever Knight. The lead character's age is a bit different but there are a lot of similarities including a deceitful potential ally (Josef in Moonlight, La Croix in Forever Knight). I just hope they inject a bit of the humour that the other vampire detective show – Angel – had.

The British have always been willing to try something different. Blackpool was different in its use of music as part of the drama. It was popular on BBC America as Viva Blackpool but it only ran for six episodes and a single 90 minute special as a sequel. I'm not sure how American audiences will react to a musical drama that runs 13 weeks – let alone 22. And for my friend Jaime Weinman, music clearances on this are going to be a cast-iron bitch.

I have no real opinion on Swingtown... but I imagine the PTC will. I imagine this one will make a quick exit from the schedule if only because it's a period piece that isn't played as a comedy. Remember American Dreams?

ABC's Fall 2007

Here's what ABC has done with its schedule for 2007-08. A number of new shows, with several shows debuting later in the season (Lost) or being held in reserve.

Cancelled:
According To Jim, Big Day, Day Break, Extreme Makeover, George Lopez Show, Great American Dream Vote, Help Me, Help You, In Case Of Emergency, Knights of Prosperity, Show Me The Money, Six Degrees, What About Brian?

Renewed:
Saturday Night College Football, Supernanny, Wife Swap, America`s Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey`s Anatomy, Lost, Ugly Betty, Notes From the Underbelly, October Road, 20/20

Moved: Men In Trees

New: Carpoolers, Cavemen, Sam I Am, Big Shots, Cashmere Mafia, Dirty Sexy, Money, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Women's Murder Club, Miss/Guided, Eli Stone,
Oprah's Big Give

In addition Cashmere Mafia, will debut and Notes From the Underbelly, October Road will return to the line-up once Dancing With The Stars, and The Bachelor complete their Fall 2007 run. Lost is scheduled to return in January. Miss/Guided, Eli Stone, and Oprah's Big Give do not currently have debut dates.

Complete Schedule (Fall 2007):

Monday
8:00-9:30 p.m. Dancing With The Stars
9:30-10:00 p.m. SAM I AM
10:00-11:00 p.m. The Bachelor

Tuesday
8:00-8:30 p.m. CAVEMEN
8:30-9:00 p.m. CARPOOLERS
9:00-10:00 p.m. Dancing With The Stars (Results)
10:00-11:00 p.m. Boston Legal

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. PUSHING DAISIES
9:00-10:00 p.m. PRIVATE PRACTICE
10:00-11:00 p.m. DIRTY SEXY MONEY

Thursday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00-10:00 p.m. Grey`s Anatomy
10:00-11:00 p.m. BIG SHOTS

Friday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Men In Trees (moved)
9:00-10:00 p.m. WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB
10:00-11:00 p.m. 20/20

Saturday
8:00-11:00 p.m. Saturday Night College Football

Sunday

7:00-8:00 p.m. America`s Funniest Home Videos
8:00-9:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00-10:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00-11:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters

Carpoolers is about four guys from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints who enjoy a bit of male bonding on their daily commute to and from work. The cast includes Fred Goss, Jerry O'Connell, Jerry Minor and Tim Peper as the guys, with Faith Ford and Allison Munn.

Based on the Geico commercials, Cavemen deals with three outsiders trying to fit in. In this case the outsiders are thirty something cavemen Joel (Bill English), Nick (Nick Kroll) and Jaimie (Dash Mihook). Also stars Kaitlin Doubleday and Stephanie Lemelin.

After awakening from a coma Samantha Newly can't remember anything in Sam I Am. As she delves into her past she finds that far from being honest, good hearted and loving she was – essentially – a self-absorbed, narcissistic bitch and must resist the temptation to go back to what she was. Christina Applegate stars along with Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCarthy, Tim Russ and Jean Smart.

Big Shots is about four high powered CEOs are at the top of their game – at least they are before the women in their lives come join them at which point they become more than a little dysfunctional. Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus and Joshua Malina are the guys while the women in their lives include Nia Long, Paige Turco, Peyton List, Wendy Moniz, Jessica Collins and Amy Sloan.

Dirty Sexy Money is about an idealistic lawyer (Peter Krause) who is catapulted into the life of the extremely wealthy but somewhat less than idealistic Darling family following the suspicious death of his father. The cast include Donald Sutherland as the family patriarch, Jill Clayburgh as his wife, and William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald and Natalie Zea.

Private Practice is the Grey's Anatomy spin-off that was introduced recently in a backdoor pilot on that show. The cast is essentially the same as in the pilot as Addison Forbes Montgomery ditches McDreamy and McSteamy. According to the press release the show is about "a woman unafraid of change and willing to begin a new life."

Barry Sonnenfield and Brian Fuller bring us Pushing Daisies. Described as "an unprecedented blend of romance, crime procedural and high-concept fantasy in a forensic fairytale about a young man with a very special gift." Ned (Lee Pace) has a special gift – he can touch dead things and bring them back to life. He uses his ability as a private detective, bringing murder victims back to life to ask them what happened. Things get complicated when he touches his childhood sweetheart "Chuck" (Anna Friel – American TV isn't that liberal yet). She encourages him to use his power to help others. There's just one fairly major problem; if Ned touches Chuck again she'll die again – this time for keeps. Also stars Chi McBride, Swoozie Kurtz and Kristin Chenoweth.

Based on the novels by James Patterson, Women's Murder Club is about four women - a detective, a district attorney, a medical examiner and a reporter – who pool their abilities and expertise in investigations and their personal lives. Stars Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Tyrees Allen, Angie Harmon, Laura Harris, Elizabeth L. Ho and Rob Benedict

What if you went back to your old high school, this time as a teacher only to find that the old rivalries and crushes hadn't changed as you got older? That's the concept behind Miss/Guided, as Rebecca Freely (Judy Greer) becomes the guidance counsellor at her old high school and develops a crush on Spanish teacher Tim (Kristoffer Polaha) only to have Lisa (Brooke Burns), the former cheerleader and leader of the cool kids who was her nemesis in her unpopular high school days, return to the school as the new English teacher.

Cashmere Mafia is about four high powered, ambitious and sexy women who try to balance their glamorous and exciting careers with their glamorous and exciting personal lives. Stars Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville.

Eli Stone is about a lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) who is a rising star at one of the top law firms in San Francisco. He only represents biggest and richest corporations and makes it his business to screw the little guy. At least he does until a series of hallucinations caused by an aneurysm leads him to try to find a deeper meaning in life – hopefully while keeping his job and his relationship with the boss's daughter (Natasha Henstridge).

Oprah's Big Give is the first primetime series from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo productions. In this eight episode "alternative series" contestants will be giving away millions of dollars to make a difference in people's lives across the United States in an effort to become "The Biggest Giver." Besides Winfrey the executive producers include Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri who created The Amazing Race.

Comments:
Carpoolers: This just doesn't seem overly exciting to me. It sounds a lot like a number of other shows that are about the battle of the sexes.

Cavemen: I've read at TVSquad that the pilot for this show is quite a mess. I like the commercials, but the commercials are only thirty seconds long. I'm pretty sure they won't work over thirty minutes (with commercials).

Sam I Am: I'm guessing that this show traces its lineage back to the recent Drew Barrymore movie 50 First Dates but for some reason I keep being reminded of Emily's Reasons Why Not when I read about this. Still Applegate is enough of a pro that she might be able to carry this one off.

Big Shots: Male bonding, this time with a more dramatic slant than with Carpoolers. I have to say that it bears at least a casual resemblance to a male version of ABC's own Cashmere Mafia and NBC's Lipstick Jungle but maybe I'm just projecting that model onto it.

Dirty Sexy Money: Depending on how this is played it could be great. An absolutely spectacular cast including one of the nuttier Baldwin brothers means that this could be played as a serious drama or as a dramedy or even a one hour comedy as the title seems to imply. I don't think the time slot will be that good for it though as I really like the look that I've had of the new NBC series Life, and I doubt if CBS will be cancelling or moving CSI: New York

Private Practice: I reviewed the backdoor pilot a while ago. I think the pilot suffered from being so thoroughly integrated into an episode of Grey's Anatomy. The episodes of JAG that introduced NCIS are how a backdoor pilot should be done. The pedigree of this show, coming out of Grey's Anatomy and having one of the show's more popular characters are definitely in the spin-off's favour though.

Pushing Daisies: I don't hold out much hope for this show. I guess they're trying to go for the same sort of vibe as Heroes but I find the subject matter a bit morbid while at the same time the description reminds me of other shows where the protagonist is sent out to use his special powers to help people.

Women's Murder Club: I don't know the books so I don't know how much is mystery solving and how much is female bonding. It sounds like it could have potential, and Friday is a weak night for TV but it's up against at least one and possibly two series that are established in the time slot (depending on whether CBS renews Close to Home tomorrow).

Miss/Guided: The description of this one reminds me of nothing short of Square Pegs all grown up. Do people really carry the prejudices and qualities they had in high school into their post-college adult work lives? Or do they go out, get drunk and reconcile their differences?

Cashmere Mafia: Where have I seen this idea before – oh yes, yesterday in the NBC upfronts, and again – this time with men instead of women – in the description of Big Shots. With the show appearing at midseason (once Dancing With The Stars and The Bachelor their runs) I don't hold out much hope for it despite a decent cast.

Eli Stone: Life changing experience causes someone to re-evaluate his life and turn over a new leaf. Surely we've seen this one before, numerous times. Given that it has yet to find a spot on the ABC schedule I doubt that it will last more than a handful of episodes given the track record this season of shows like Day Break, 3 Lbs. Drive and The Black Donnellys.

Oprah's Big Give: Philanthropy as a reality competition? I guess it could work and if anyone can make it work it's probably Oprah. I just wonder if it's going to be The Philanthropic Apprentice?

NBC's Fall 2007

Here's what NBC has done with its schedule. Bear in mind that what you see here might bear little if any resemblance to what actually airs in September, and probably no resemblance to what's on in January 2008. Or even by the end of this May.

Cancelled:
Andy Barker PI, The Black Donnellys, Kidnapped, Crossing Jordan, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Megan Mullally Show, Thank God You're Here, 20 Good Years, Grease: You're the One That I Want, Identity, Raines, Real Wedding Crashers

Renewed:
30 Rock, Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football, Las Vegas, ER, Heroes, Law & Order: SVU, My Name Is Earl

Moved:
Law & Order, Medium, Scrubs, Friday Night Lights

New:
Lipstick Jungle, Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life, Journeyman

Also, no time has been listed for the next season of The Apprentice. Law & Order: Criminal Intent will air on USA with NBC retaining the right to air the show on the broadcast network. A third series, World Moves has been announced as a mid season replacement as has a new comedy, The IT Crowd. Finally Jerry Seinfeld will be presenting some "minisodes" inspired by his work on his new animated movie with Dreamworks Bee Movie which will be airing in the Fall.

Complete Schedule: (New shows in Capitals, all times Eastern)

Monday

8:00-9:00 p.m. Deal Or No Deal
9:00-10:00 p.m. Heroes/HEROES ORIGINS
10:00-11:00 p.m. JOURNEYMAN

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Biggest Loser
9:00-10:00 p.m. CHUCK
10:00-11:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Deal Or No Deal
9:00-10:00 p.m. BIONIC WOMAN
10:00-11:00 p.m. LIFE

Thursday
8:00-8:30 p.m. My Name Is Earl
8:30-9:00 p.m. The Office
9:00- 9:30 p.m. 30 Rock
9:30-10:00 p.m. Scrubs
10:00-11:00 p.m. ER

Friday
8:00-9:00 p.m. 1 vs. 100/THE SINGING BEE
9:00-10:00 p.m. Las Vegas
10:00-11:00 p.m. Friday Night Lights (Moved)

Saturday
8:00-9:00 p.m. Dateline NBC
9:00-11:00 p.m. Drama Series Encores

Sunday (Starting in January after the end of Football)
7:00-8:00 p.m. Dateline NBC
8:00-9:00 p.m. Law & Order (Moved)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Medium (Moved)
10:00-11:00 p.m. LIPSTICK JUNGLE

Heroes Origins is a six episode spin-off of Heroes which will apparently air in during the show's hiatus. The show will introduce a new Hero each week with a fan vote choosing one to become a series regular in the third season.

Journeyman is described as "romantic mystery drama series in which San Francisco journalist and family man Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd) starts inexplicably travelling through time changing people's lives. His disappearances in the present time cause problems for him at work and at home, particularly when he reconnects with his former girlfriend. Moon Bloodgood, Gretchen Egolf, Reed Diamond and Charles Henry Wyson also star.

Chuck is a "comedy spy thriller" about computer geek Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) who becomes the government's most important agent after an email subliminally downloads a server full of sensitive information into his head. Assigned to protect him is Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) of the NSA while his partner – and first date in years – is top CIA agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strzechowski). Also stars Joshua Gomez and Sarah Lancaster.

The Bionic Woman is a remake of the classic show from the mid-1970's. Instead of being a star tennis player who becomes a teacher and secret agent after a skydiving accident with her astronaut boyfriend, in this version Jaime Summers (British actress Michelle Ryan) is a struggling bartender raising her younger sister on her own. She's severely injured in a car wreck. They can of course rebuild her, but it comes at a cost. Also stars Miguel Ferrer, Mae Whitman, Chris Bowers, Will Yun Lee, and Molly Price.

In Life detective Charlie Case (Damien Lewis) returns to the police force after having served time in prison for a crime he did not commit. Also stars Melissa Sagemiller as his lawyer, Sarah Shahi as his sceptical and demanding partner, Robin Weigart as his boss, and Adam Arkin as his former cell mate.

The Singing Bee is a "variety competition" show in which contestants have to accurately sing the lyrics to a popular songs, even when the band stops playing. According to the NBC press release "Family-friendly, broad in appeal and conducive to playing (and singing) along at home, The Singing Bee features popular, recognizable music that inspires hilarious wrong answers and amazing performances by those rare contestants who somehow manage to get every word right.

The Lipstick Jungle is a dramedy that features three driven career women – Kim Raver, Brooke Shields, and Lindsay Price – weathering the ups and downs of life "at the top of their game," balancing career and personal life (or in some cases not). Based on the novel by Candace Bushnell, but written by executive producers DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler.

The IT Crowd is an Americanized version of the hit British show about the guys in the basement who keep the office running by making sure the computers are operating despite the people using them. Roy (Joel McHale) and Moss (Richard Ayoade, from the British series) are the guys in the IT department whose social skills are just adequate to allow them to bond with each other but don't extend much beyond that. Denholm (Rocky Carroll) is the boss who wants to keep it that way.

World Moves comes from producer Randy Jackson (from American Idol). The NBC Press release explains it best: "Thousands of dance teams from around the world will audition for their shot to come to Los Angeles and compete for a global championship and an international touring contract. The live television event features young teams of five to seven members demonstrating their athleticism, creativity and innovative choreography in a presentation that highlights both the competition and the personal drama unfolding within each team. Viewers from across the globe will vote via the Internet, by text message, or by phone to eliminate one team each week. Ultimately, it's not just about winning a competition; World Moves involves stories that change lives and bring the world together."

Comments:
Heroes Origins seems like an innovative move for NBC. The move effectively gives Heroes a 30 week run, eliminating the difficult hiatus period which has been disastrous for a number of series that are regarded by the networks as not repeating well (see Lost, Jericho) as well as setting up potential characters for a future season.

Journeyman sounds like one of those ideas doomed to be low rated. Reminiscent in some ways of Quantum Leap mixed with a bit of Early Edition (and it probably won't get into the various implications of time travel on changing established events yada yada yada). It could become something of a cult hit but I don't see it drawing a big audience if it's up against CSI: Miami.

Since I'm in the rut of comparing things to stuff Chuck has touches of Scarecrow & Mrs. King (the accidental secret agent) and the Keannu Reeves movie Johnny Mnemonic (a guy downloads computer data into his brain), and maybe just a touch of Now and Again. It's always good to see Adam Baldwin who can be a very funny guy playing things straight. It is still a question of whether an audience will accept a concept like this. I'm betting it won't though it might work better an hour earlier.

No need to drag out comparisons for The Bionic Woman – it's an updated version of the '70s classic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if the approach is (as it sounds) similar to the approach that was taken to the update of Battlestar Galactica, a harder edged approach to what was, in the end, pretty campy material. If CBS retains Criminal Minds in this time slot could face an uphill battle, particularly once Lost returns on ABC.

Life has an interesting concept, but hey I liked Blind Justice and to be honest this sounds sort of like that show with prison replacing blindness. Damian Lewis, who starred in Band of Brothers, is a solid and watchable actor, and the character seems to be surrounded by strong women. Could do well depending on what ABC puts in the time slot now that they've announced that Lost will be moving back to the second hour.

The Singing Bee. What can I say about this? Karaoke when power goes off? Dancing With the Stars with singers but no stars? The concept at least sounds better than Identity or even Deal or No Deal. I guess it could be a big hit or a big bomb. What it is proof of is NBC's decision (realistic or stupid – I come down on the side of stupid) to abandon the use of scripted programming in the first hour of their nightly schedule.

The Lipstick Jungle: Wow, a concept from Candace Bushnell based on high powered women living in New York City. Where have I heard that one before?

The IT Crowd has the potential to go a long way if the producers are wise enough to handle the show like The Office and go in their own direction from the British concept. If they slavishly try to replicate things exactly NBC could end up with another Coupling.

World Moves sounds exceptionally ambitious. I suppose a cynical outsider (like maybe me) would ask whether an American audience is ready to embrace a "reality competition" show where the talent is not only drawn from outside the United States but where they aren't the sole arbiters of who is the best and in fact may be outvoted by people who live outside the area bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the 49^th Parallel and the Rio Grande. This show could be amazing or – in the United States at least – it could be a huge dud.

TV Moms III – The Hybrid Mom

Had some Internet problems last night so here's the last, and possibly the most interesting and realistic of the classes of TV Moms, the Hybrid Mom. The Hybrid Mom mixes all the great qualities of the Motherly Mom and some of the sexiness of the Hot Mom. The Hybrid Mom tends to be in her late thirties or early forties, has kids in their teens – possibly even one in college – but is still sexually attractive to her spouse (if she has one) and maybe other men. She definitely has "MILFy" qualities. More to the point she still enjoys sex with her husband although she is frequently worried enough about conception that she'll insist that her husband have a vasectomy which he inevitably does after considerable protest. Here then are some of TV's great Hybrid Moms.

Carol Brady – The Brady Bunch: Here's the story of a lovely lady with three kids of her own who married a man with three sons. And for the life of me I can't understand why there wasn't a seventh little Brady. We never know why Carol was unattached until she married Mike Brady – producer Sherwood Schwartz wanted her to be a divorcee but that was apparently nixed by ABC – and it was generally assumed that like Mike she was widowed. Carol goes from raising three girls to managing a blended family of three girls and three boys and after a first season (well really just a few episodes) that at times is rough handles it without a noticeable hitch. One thing that is absolutely clear is that by changing Florence Henderson's hairstyle she actually gets hotter looking as she gets older.

Shirley Partridge – Partridge Family: Shirley Partridge had five kids so you have to figure that before her husband shuffled off this mortal coil she had to have had a pretty active sex life. She was also a spectacularly great mom. I mean being a single mom is never an easy job but on TV at least none of the Partridge kids smoked, drank, did drugs or had behavioural problems (off screen there was Danny Bonaduce – 'nuff said). The biggest problem a Partridge kid had was when Laurie (Susan Dey) got braces just before the boy she really really liked (played by a pre-Star Wars Mark Hamill) was going to kiss her. And she did all that while the band was going on the road in that bus, usually driven by Shirley (at least until Keith got his license). Shirley dated occasionally, which with five kids at home in the early '70s was frankly amazing, but you always got the feeling that she was evaluating men based on her late husband and the guys she dated never really measured up.

Claire Huxtable – The Cosby Show: Also known as Superwoman and played by Phylicia Rashad. Let's look at Claire's qualifications for that title. She had five kids – Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy – a step granddaughter (Olivia) that she had to raise after Denise and her naval officer husband Martin Kendall were posted overseas, two other grandchildren – Sondra's twins Nelson and Winnie. And in all this she not only managed to get a law degree, keep the house spotless without any sign of a maid or housekeeper, cook gourmet meals, and manage Heathcliff's diet – whether he likes it or not. Plus she could sing. Oh yeah, by the way, still gettin' it on! Superwoman indeed!

Jill Taylor – Home Improvement: Not quite the Superwoman that Claire Huxtable was, she still had some chops in that area. Jill (played by Patricia Richardson) had to deal with three kids (but they were all boys and all a lot like their father) plus Tim Taylor. And still she managed to get a degree in Psychology. She was far more level headed than her husband – but Gracie Allen would have been more level headed than Tim – and was able to manage her sons. Over time she revealed a bit of a wild side. As a college student she engaged in a bit of rebellion against her Army officer father by getting seriously into marijuana to the point where she had a problem that time helped her to cope with. Also in college she owned a water bed where she and Tim made waves. During the series Richardson lost weight which let the producers put her in more revealing clothes including nighties. She might be frustrated by Tim at times but she was willing to try out the rumble seat of his hot rod.

Joyce Summers – Buffy: the Vampire Slayer: I thought about this one for a while but finally decided that she fit in this category. Joyce – played by Kristine Sutherland – was a huge influence on her daughter to the point where after Joyce`s death Buffy tried to replicate a Thanksgiving meal exactly as her mother would have done it. Joyce is a very protective parent, concerned about her daughter and trying hard to set limits (which by the nature of her powers Buffy sometimes has to overstep) in the period when she doesn't know that Buffy is "The Slayer." There's a certain pride there too exemplified in the way that Joyce reacts to Snyder after Spike and his vampires attack the school. In turn Joyce`s opinion meant a lot to Buffy, and she leaves home when Joyce tells her, "If you walk out of this house right now, don't even think about coming back" because Buffy takes her mother at her word. Although Joyce didn`t date much, there's still a sexual attractiveness there – she's in full MILF mode in Xander's dream at the end of season 4. And who could forget Buffy reading her mother's mind about an encounter with Giles: "Twice? On the hood of a police car?!"

And the anti-Hybrid Mom:

Peg Bundy – Married With Children: It is entirely to the credit of Katey Sagal as an actress that she made herself as believable as she did playing Peg Bundy on Married With Children. Viewed by just about any standard Peg is the worst possible wife and mother in the world – she's lazy, doesn't cook clean or actually do anything that resembles work in or out of the home. She's a fashion disaster and while she's faithful to her husband he dreads even the possibility of intercourse with her unless he sees her doing actual physical labour.

TV Moms II – The Hot Mom

Well it`s more dignified than the term MILF but make no mistake about it the Hot Mom is the very definition of that term, all the more so because I`m doing the picking on this one based on my own prejudices!

Contrary to some expectations, the Hot Mom is not a modern development While I can`t think of any Hot Moms from the 1950s (maybe Dennis`s mom from Dennis The Menace) they do start to appear in the 1960s. They seem to be quite common today – just think of those shows where some fat schlub (like Jim Belushi) is married to some beautiful woman (say Courtney Thorne-Smith) who by all rights wouldn`t be seen dead with him unless he was worth a lot more than the schlub has any expectation of earning in his entire life. Anyway, here`s my highly subjective list of TV`s Hot Moms.

Laura Petrie – The Dick Van Dyke Show: Two words – Capri pants. Three more words – Mary Tyler Moore. While I realise that Moore can be hard to work with (Ken Levine has told some real horror stories about working with her: "Think Ordinary People but without the warmth.") but at the time of the Dick Van Dyke Show she was physically a very attractive woman with great legs, a toned body, and an ass that Rob Reiner said that as a teenager visiting the set he couldn't resist grabbing. This physical nature had a lot to do with the fact that Mary had been a professional dancer as well as an actress (and they made the character a dancer as well). It also helped that they dressed her in clothes that emphasised her physical qualities. Suffice it to say that it always amazed me that the Petries only had one child in those days before The Pill, because if I were Rob I wouldn't have let a little thing like twin beds get in my way.

Samantha Stevens – Bewitched: While Ozzie and Harriet may have been the first TV couple to sleep in a double bed, Samantha was the one who you knew used it for something other than sleeping in. The proof of that is found in the two kids that Samantha gave birth to during the show (necessitated by actress Elizabeth Montgomery's own pregnancies). Samantha had a great face which was where the character's attractiveness really lies since the show toned down Elizabeth Montgomery's body type by showing her in the sort of clothing that a young matron in the early to mid '60s would wear, except when she was in her more "witchy" attire. Some people say that the character of Serena was closer to the real character of Elizabeth Montgomery; certainly she wore sexier clothes than Samantha did. But Samantha was still pretty hot even dressed like a '60s mom.

Ann Romano – One Day at a Time: Bonnie Franklin's character of Ann Romano broke a lot of barriers when Norman Lear's One Day at a Time debuted. For one thing she was a single woman who wasn't a widow but rather a divorcee. Only a few years before CBS had balked at having Mary Richards be a divorcee on the more than slightly spurious grounds that people would think that Rob & Laura Petrie had gotten a divorce (after which Laura changed her name to Mary Richards and moved to Minnesota?). Ann was a woman who decided that she was going to be her own woman rather than just being someone's daughter, wife or mother, which in itself is a bit sexy. Franklin tended not to wear a bra – leading to some people calling her "bouncy Bonnie" – which was typical for a lot of women in the period. Most scandalous of all, Ann had sex. She wasn't as promiscuous as a lot of characters in a lot of today's series, but she was more chased than chaste. Most of all, when the character slept with a man she did it on her terms – she was engaged to – and slept with – her lawyer but broke off the relationship when he stated that he wanted kids and she was through with that part of her life, not for medical reasons but because she didn't want any more kids.

Beverly Crusher – Star Trek: The Next Generation: Okay, a lot of people probably don't get this one but it's my list and my preferences, and I have a fondness for redheads and dancers and Gates McFadden is both of these. Crusher was highly competent as a doctor (temporarily serving Star Fleet Medical she commanded the Enterprise in an encounter with the Borg and did it well. She also had to deal with a lot of things including Wesley as a son, and the fact that Captain Picard was clueless when it came to dealing with women who served him breakfast – it took temporary telepathic abilities for him to realise that Crusher was attracted to him and after she decided that she wasn't ready quite yet to explore the romantic side of their relationship he completely gives up on it! Not that Beverly wasn't getting some action because she was. There was an Irish ghost who had been keeping her grandmother happy for years and was ready to take up with Bev, and of course she had the resident Enterprise manwhore, Will Riker (admittedly his body was temporarily housing a Trill symbiote whose previous body had also been Beverly's lover).

Catherine Willows – CSI: Catherine is undoubtedly one of my favourite TV characters. She's smart, she's ambitious, she enjoys her sexuality and she's a mother, all of which are important parts of her character on the series. She was a former nude dancer (in an early episode she tells Greg Sanders "If you saw me, you'd remember me.") and has had several relationships that seem to have been primarily about sex during the period of the series. In fact at one point she tells her boss Gil Grissom about her frustrations with work and her family life ending by telling him how long it's been since she's had sex – it's measured in weeks rather than months. Her daughter, Lindsay, is one of the reasons why she stopped dancing and why she worked the night shift at the lab, so she can spend at least part of the day with her daughter. Later, Lindsay's rebellious behaviour is why Catherine seeks a day shift job only to be given command of the swing shift.

And the mom who is definitely not a hot mom:

Roseanne Conner – Roseanne: I could just as easily fit her in the Hybrid category, but that was a deliberate choice on the producers' part – they wanted to make the show the "anti-Cosby Show" and Roseanne Conner was about as far from Claire Huxtable as is possible. Then there's the fact that I have never been able to stand Roseanne Barr since the time she was doing her standup act, before she got her TV show. I wouldn't quite say that she made me nauseous, but it was close. So maybe I'm a bit prejudiced; all I know is I wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole – ten foot Poles wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole.

TV Mothers I – The Motherly Mom

Since tomorrow is Mothers Day I've decided to offer posts about some of my own favourite TV Moms. In my opinion there are really three types of TV Mom – the Motherly Mom, the Hot Mom, and a sort of mixture that I call the Hybrid Mom. I'm also going to offer at least one example of each that is the antithesis of the type. For this group of posts I'm not counting characters from soap operas (sorry Erica Kane), characters who became moms in the last episode of their shows (that's you Belanna Torres, you hot Klingon you, and you to Fran Fine) and shows that are currently on.

Let's start with the Motherly Mom. For years, particularly in the first couple of decades of television, the Motherly Mom was the standard. Their kids were older and basically you never thought of them in even the most mildly sexual circumstances. They might get an occasional kiss and that's it. They were always dressed stylishly but not elegantly – pearls were optional. So here is my list of Motherly Moms.

Margaret Anderson – Father Knows Best: The archetype done to perfection by Jane Wyatt, although in the original radio series the character was played first June Whitley and later by Jean Vanderpyl who went on to be the voice of another TV mom, Wilma Flintstone. She was grounded, with plenty of common sense which she usually needed. Contrary to the title of the show, the original premise was that Father (Jim Anderson, played by Robert Young) actually didn't know best and would get into various situations that Margaret in her level headed way would get him out of. Jane Wyatt gets extra "mom" points for also having played Amanda Grayson, mother of the most conflicted kid in the galaxy, Mr. Spock, on Star Trek.

June Cleaver – Leave it to Beaver: Almost as big an archetype as Margaret Anderson, June was played by Barbara Billingsley. She and husband Ward Cleaver (played to perfection by Hugh Beaumont), everyone remembers the pearls that she wore no matter what she was doing. She was almost always elegantly dressed and always there for her sons even though they almost always tended to go to their father for advice. And of course she was never fooled by anything that Eddie Haskell ever said – she knew exactly what he was. Billingsley reprised the role of June Cleaver over twenty years after the original show left the air in the revival Still the Beaver, which followed her great performance in Airplane as the "jive translator."

Harriet Nelson – The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet: The third example of the Fifties TV mom. It's a little difficult to evaluate Harriet Nelson because the character she was playing was a fictionalized version of herself, and she was acting with her real husband and children. In fact the wives of her two sons David and Ricky played their wives on the show. The series ran on TV from 1952 to 1966 and had run on radio for eight years before that, and there was an attempt at a revival called Ozzie's Girls without David or Ricky in 1973 that didn't last. The show probably portrayed a sanitized version of the Nelson family life – for one thing Harriet never smoked on TV despite being a two pack a day smoker in real life. Harriet was the level headed one in the family while Ozzie was prone to "great ideas" that inevitably fall through.

Kate Bradley – Petticoat Junction: Kate was different from the three women named above. She was a widow running her own business as well as she could. She was also raising her three daughters with the "help" of uncle, Joe Carson. While there was, of course, no suggestion of sex in the series, the mature Kate did have a couple of romantic entanglements, primarily with storekeeper Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) but it was also implied that C&FW Railroad President Norman Curtis was more than a little enamoured of her. Kate was smart – she had to be to deal with repeated encounters with C&FW Vice President Homer Bedloe not to mention her daughters' various unsuitable suitors. Bea Benedaret, who played Kate as well as Pearl Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies (mother of Jethro Bodine and his often forgotten twin sister Jethrine – both played by Max Baer although Jethrine's voice was done by Linda Henning, who played Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction) and Betty Rubble on The Flintstones, was the heart of the series in just about every way that counted and while the series continued following her extended illness and death of lung cancer, it was never the same after she left.

Marion Cunningham – Happy Days: Marion is a mid-'70s take on the Motherly Mom of the 1950s typified by Margaret, June and Harriet. She and her husband Howard are raising three kids (yeah, I'm counting Chuck, wanna make something of it) – four if you count Fonzie who regards "Mrs. C" as much a surrogate mother as his Grandma Nussbaum (who raised him). In a rather amazing way Marion Cunningham (played by the superb Marion Ross) is a bit more realistic than the three characters she's modelled on. Let's face it, it's hard to imagine June Cleaver telling Ward to "sit on it" and the image of Jim and Margaret Anderson even talking about "getting a little frisky" is enough to burn out certain areas of the brain. And yet Marion Cunningham is firmly rooted in the Motherly Mom sensibility.

The Un-Motherly Mom: Lucy Ricardo – I Love Lucy: I know I'm going to get some reaction to this one, but think about it. Set aside the smoking in front of the baby because everyone did that in the 1950s (I have a reference book on I Love Lucy around her someplace that I'm too lazy to bother digging up, but I'm pretty sure that Lucy Ricardo was never shown smoking while she was pregnant) there are other issues at play. The big one for me is the way that she essentially abandoned Little Ricky for extended periods of time. Take the time that they went out to California. The Mertzes and Ricardos travel by car but Little Ricky is left in New York under the care of his maternal grandmother for what seems to the viewer at least like an extended period of time. In California we rarely see Little Ricky – he's either having a nap or under the care of Grandma McGillicuddy. Then, no sooner are the Ricardos and Mertzes back in New York (at least this time the kid made the trip with them) than they're off to Europe. And even though they're travelling by ship, where's Little Ricky? Why he's back in New York with his grandmother. Hardly ideal parenting.