The fall TV season kills
By Alissa Ponchione, Staff Writer
September 15, 2006 | 4:34 p.m.
TV junkies wait no longer. The fall television schedule is ready to go, and it feels good.
After the series finale of this season, network Upfronts were two weeks ago as a chance to see if "What About Brian" survived cancellation. It did. And to see if NBC could get out of its fourth place slump and relive the glory days of the Seinfeld, Friends and ER trifecta.
After last season’s failed "Joey," NBC has revamped its schedule with the much anticipated return of Aaron Sorkon ("The West Wing" creator) and his new drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," a drama about the dramatic backstage antics of a comedy skit show starring Bradley Whitford and the return of Matthew Perry.
However, "Studio 60" will have competition at its 9 p.m. Thursday time slot because it’s up against "CSI" and "Grey’s Anatomy." Tina Fey’s sitcom "30 Rock" will follow the behind the scenes of comedy skit show.
“Friday Night Lights," the TV adaptation from the movie, will be an added relief to the struggling Friday night.
As for ABC, the alphabet network is coming off a strong second place finish, but that won’t deter them from adding 12 new shows to their lineup. Amongst them will be another J.J. Abrams show called “6 degrees” about strangers in New York whose lives intertwine. Although it has never been known for it’s sophisticated taste in sitcoms (Remember "Rodney?"), ABC will stray from the traditional four-camera comedy and stick with the one camera approach in "Let’s Rob," where a few bumbling idiots decide to rob Mick Jagger’s New York apartment. Another much-hyped hour long comedy is "Betty the Ugly" where America Ferrera plays an unattractive assistant working at a high fashion magazine.
Calista Flockhart will make her return in the family drama "Brothers & Sisters," which takes over "Grey’s Anatomy’s" 9 p.m. Sunday time. But the most promising show on the network is "Notes from the Underbelly, " which follows a married couple looking to get pregnant as they deal with the upcoming strife of parenthood.
Fans of the show “Lost" who complained about the constant onslaught of reruns this season need not worry about that anymore. "Lost" will premiere seven straight episodes in the fall. In its downtime, the Taye Diggs drama "Day Break," mimics "Groundhog’s Day" where Diggs lives the same horrible day over and over again. "Lost" will return in January and be rerun free until its finale in May.
Being at the top is nice, and CBS knows this. They’ll be adding only four new shows to their already power house roster. Out of the four, the one to look out for is the drama "Smith" starring Ray Liota as a thief hiding his profession from his wife played by Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen. Other shows on the schedule include two dramas, “Jericho” and “Shark,”`and the comedy “The Class,” following the reunion of a group in their 20s that were all in the same third grade class.
Fox, the network that scared fathers away and targeted the 18-34 year-old demographic, seems to have lost its way. Although most of Fox comedies are sub par at best, Brad Garrett brings his distinguished comedic chops in "'Til Death." He and Joely Fisher play a long-time married husband and wife who live next door to a very happy newlywed couple.
As for the dramas, Fox sticks to formula by adding "Justice" that tells the behind-the-scenes looks at high profile crime cases, and "Vanished" following the kidnap of a senator’s wife throughout the whole season. However, midseason replacement sitcom "The Winner" starring "The Daily Show’s" Rob Cordrey might add the spice that keeps Fox alive.
The CW, the WB and UPN hybrid, will only add two new shows to its roster. Donnie Whalberg’s, yes, the one from New Kids on the Block, will star in a thriller about a man framed for murder who must keep his family on the run in "Runaway."
Because the CW a new network, it’s safer to keep the popular shows around. And it does. Although "Everwood" is touted as the best family drama on television, it didn’t survive the birth of the network, but "One Tree Hill" did. Other shows on the CW include "Gilmore Girls," "America’s Next Top Model," "Veronica Mars," "Smallville," "Supernatural," "Everybody Hates Chris" and the longest running family drama "7th Heaven" will be back for an 11th season despite its supposed cancellation.
Networks are still trying to mimic the success of shows like "Lost" and "24" that take the whole season to figure something out. The survival of these shows will be limited. As for sitcoms, the four-camera comedy is barely surviving as with the success of shows like "The Office" and "My name is Earl" proves that one-camera is the best way to get laughs.