TV Switcheroos!!!

Hello everyone! Michael and I have returned from the west coast adventure! My head is still spinning from the trip so I won’t even attempt to discuss it yet. Give me a few days. Then you’ll get some trip highlights. But really, what we need to discuss is tv. Wowie. I have a lot of it to catch up on. Thankfully Veronica Mars & The Amazing Race ended before I left, and I caught up on 24 last night. But my oh my, I still have:
Everwood
Alias
Lost
Survivor
The O.C.
Desperate Housewives
The Muppet Wizard of Oz
The Romber Wedding

I’m trying my best to avoid all information, but of course I know that Tom won Survivor. There’s no way I could avoid that publicity storm. Anyhoo, hopefully next week I’ll be able to give you a recap of the season finales and actually this season in general.

While I was away the tentative fall schedules were announced. Now this is what I like to call the tentative official schedule. Technically, it is official, but the networks like to change things around before September.

The fall schedule is a little crazy. I think 90% of my shows moved to a different timeslot. This year, Tuesday at 9 was my painfully overcrowded spot. This year, Tuesday at 9 is like a barren wasteland. Thursdays at 8 is my new crisis spot.

In your email you received an excel sheet. Shows in italics are new, shows in red have moved and in blue will start in January. Anything in bold is an established KT Program.

I have lots of comments, lets start by looking at each day. Oh, and don’t worry about Scrubs not being on the schedule, it is going to replace whichever NBC sitcom gets cancelled first.

Monday

Returning shows:
Over on fox Arrested Development will take the Monday at 8 slot for the first half of the year. 24 comes back in January. ABC picked up Jake in Progress (hooray) and after football season it will take the 9:30 slot.

New shows:
Emily's Reasons Why Not (ABC, 9)
Emily (Heather Grahm) has a great life, with good friends, perfect taste and a fabulous publishing job. She lives her life by a very specific code, but when she gets involved with a bad-boy author, that code falls by the wayside.

What About Brian (ABC, 10)
At 34, Brian (Barry Watson) is the last single guy in his group of friends. Sure, he's a serial monogamist, but that doesn't mean that he isn't attracted to the wedded bliss and relationship conflict he sees among his married buddies.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 8:30)
When Ted's (Josh Radnor) best friend Marshall (Jason Segel) tells him that he's about to propose to his girlfriend Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Ted decides he has to find his own dream woman. He enlists the help of his friend Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), but the quest for true love may be complicated. The series is told in flashbacks narrated by Bob Saget.

Kitchen Confidential (Fox, 8:30)
Jack Bourdain (Bradley Cooper) is a rock star chef whose drinking, drug use and womanizing ruined a promising culinary career. He's given another chance to take over a top New York restaurant, but he's hired so quickly he can only bring on a staff of similarly dysfunctional renegades (including characters played by Owain Yeoman, John Cho, Nicholas Brendon and John F. Daley). Expect to learn lots of nasty secrets about what really goes on in the kitchens of your favorite restaurants.

Out of Practice (CBS, 9:30)
Christopher Gorham plays a young couples' counselor whose overachieving doctor parents (Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler) don't respect his career choices. However, the counselor may be perfectly trained to fix his wacky family.

Prison Break (Fox, 9)
Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is on death row for a crime he maintains he didn't commit. His brother Michael (Wentworth Miller) believes him and commits a crime to join his brother in prison. What hoosegow officials don't know is that Michael helped design the prison and he's planning an elaborate escape. It's so elaborate that it will take an entire season to play out.

Hey guess what? The lead boy in this show was on buffy! He was one of the hot swim team boys that turned into a fish!!

Fathom (NBC, 8)
A new form of sea life is popping up all over the world, from the South Antarctic Sea to San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico. The aquatic creatures look cute and innocent and kids love to play with them, but is something freakier afoot? An assortment of scientists and fishermen begin an investigation to find out if things are really better under the sea..
Stars:
Lake Bell ("Boston Legal"), Jay R. Ferguson ("Judging Amy"), Rade Serbedzija ("Snatch")

Just Legal (WB, 9)
Jay Baruchel ("Undeclared") plays a legal prodigy who can't land the job he wants because of his youth. Naturally, he goes to work for a legendary burn out (Don Johnson) barely making ends meet with a beachfront shingle. They become crusaders for the unjustly wronged, as the old man teaches his protege to become a lawyer and the whelp reminds his mentor of how to live again.

Conflicts: Of course! Of course Alyson Hannigan’s new show is up against Nicholas Brendon’s. Lucky for me they will only go head to head until January, then Kitchen Confidential will go on hiatus and House will move into this slot. Fox is crazy with all their moving around of shows.

Summing up: Well, I have to say I’m a little happy. The Monday at 8 spot was a little empty last year and now I have Arrested Development & Kitchen Confidential. Plus I can tape How I met your mother! Prison Break has been getting some buzz, so I’ll probably check that out until 24 starts. And of course I’ll be taping John Stamos in Jake in Progress! And oh yes, how can I forget What about Brian! Wow, all of the sudden I have lots of potential tv on Monday!

Tuesday
Last year I was up to my eyeballs in tv on Tuesday nights. Now it is just the Amazing Race all by its lonesome.

Returning Shows: House (starts off here and then moves to Mondays at 8 in Jan); The Amazing Race

New Shows:
Commander-in-Chief (ABC, 9)
A mother of three who also happens to be the vice president of the United States goes against the wishes of the dying president -- and her entire party -- to take over the highest political office and become the first female Commander-in-Chief, rather than resign.
Stars: Geena Davis, Donald Sutherland

Bones (Fox, 8)
Based on the experiences of forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs, "Bones" focuses on a forensic anthropologist and novelist (Emily Deschanel) who has an uncanny ability to read the clues found in bones. Naturally, she gets called in to help law enforcement officials, including Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), a former Army sniper who distrusts science. They butt heads regularly, but is there some sexual tension going on? You bet your bippy.

Close to Home (CBS, 10)
Annabeth Chase (Jennifer Finnigan) plays an aggressive prosecutor who also happens to be a be a new mother. CBS promises that the show "tears away the facade of suburbia to reveal that sometimes quiet and tranquil streets can hide the darkest of crimes." Check it out, Christian Kane, who was Lindsey on Angel will be on this show!

My Name Is Earl (NBC, 9)
A bully and low-rent crook (Jason Lee) wins the lottery and decides to right the wrongs from his past. He may not be the brightest bulb, but he's oddly effective,

Sex, Lies & Secrets (UPN, 9)
Instead it's an ensemble about a group of twentysomethings who become a tightly knit family in the hip Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Stars:
Denise Richards ("Wild Things"), Eric Balfour ("Six Feet Under”)

Supernatural (WB, 9)
Two brothers (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki) travel the country in a '67 Ford Impala fighting supernatural forces and trying to find their missing father.

Conflicts: Yet to be determined, depends how much I like House, and if Earl is any good.

Summing up: It is too early to guess which of these new shows will catch on. I’m hoping to watch some reruns of House this summer so that is the direction I am leaning. I also really like Jason Lee, so I’ll probably be taping Earl.

Wednesday:

Returning Shows:
The Big news. The JJ night gets split up and the best show no one was watching last year goes up against the show Everyone was watching last year.
See what happens when you get what you want? Somehow, someway it comes back to bite you. All I wanted was a new timeslot for Veronica Mars. Well, UPN moved the show to Wednesdays at 9, which in UPNs eyes is a show of confidence because they are pairing it with their highest rated show, America’s Next Top Model. But then, stupid ABC has to go and move Alias to Thursday and back Lost up to the 9pm slot. Now Veronica Mars will face off against lost!

I’m really not too worried about myself. I’ll watch one and tape the other (I haven’t seen the lost finale yet, but by the end of the season VM was my favorite show). But I’m worried about the show finding an audience against Lost. UPN will be re-airing the entire season over the summer—I implore you to watch! But alas, ABC is also re-running lost. Hopefully the 8pm sitcoms that ABC has planned will bomb and they will move lost back to 8 and then VM will have a chance.

New Shows:
Freddie (ABC, 8:30)
Growing up surrounded by women is one thing, living with them as an adult is something else. A young chef/bachelor-around-town (Freddie Prinze Jr) finds that a house full of females might be more than he can handle when his sister, sister-in-law, niece and grandmother come to live with him after his brother's death.

Invasion (ABC, 10)
Following a violent tropical storm, a U.S. park ranger's missing ex-wife is found naked and with no memory of how she got that way. Couple that with his young daughter seeing some mysterious floating lights. The ranger starts to investigate and begins to uncover an alien conspiracy that has been spreading across the world for centuries.
Stars:
William Fichtner ("Black Hawk Down"), Eddie Cibrian ("Third Watch"),

Criminal Minds (CBS, 9)
An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the most twisted of criminals. Each member of the team, including agents played by Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore, has a particular area of expertise.

Head Cases (Fox, 9)
Jason Payne (Chris O'Donnell) is a promising young attorney who has a nervous breakdown. His outpatient buddy is Shultz (Adam Goldberg), a low-rent lawyer with anger management issues. They form a partnership to help fight for underdogs and keep each other sane.

The Loop (Fox, 9:30)
When Sam (Bret Harrison) get hired to be the youngest executive at a major airline, he becomes the first of his friends to get a real job. His work life -- featuring a demanding boss (Philip Baker Hall) and an amorous older co-worker (Mimi Rogers) -- is tough enough, but his home life is no cakewalk either.

The E-Ring (NBC, 9)
Jerry Bruckheimer (all those "CSI" things), who knows a few things about procedural dramas, takes viewers inside the Pentagon. From intelligence gathering to war room debate to special ops in the battlefield, the drama looks at the life-and-death decisions that can relate to a single soldier or to the fate of the entire world.
Stars:
Dennis Hopper, Benjamin Bratt

Related (WB,9)
The Sorelli sisters (Jennifer Esposito, Lizzy Caplan, Laura Breckenridge and an actress to be named later) fight, laugh, live and love in New York City.

Conflicts: Lost vs. Veronica Mars. Thank god for VCRs.

Summing Up: I want VM to do well. Tuesday at 8 looks to be a tv wasteland…although that Martha Stewart apprentice may be interesting.

Thursday
Tues at 9 settles down and Thurs at 8 gets too full! Obviously, Alias will be watched. Does that put Survivor or the O.C. in the hot seat? Plus what about chris?

Returning Shows: Alias, Survivor, The O.C, Joey, Will & Grace, Everwood & Smallville.

New Shows:
Everybody Hates Chris (UPN, 8)
It's a darkly nostalgic look at Rock's teenage experiences growing up in Brooklyn in the early '80s and being bused to a predominantly white middle school.

The Night Stalker (ABC, 9)
A crime reporter (Stuart Townsend) who also happens to be the FBI's No. 1 suspect in the bizarre death of his wife prowls the streets of Los Angeles trying to find answers. In addition to trying to connect the dots between murder victims found with a strange red, snake-shaped mark on their hands, he also finds himself delving into a strange supernatural world of crime.

Reunion (Fox, 9)
This innovative show -- part drama, part mystery -- follows six friends from their 1986 high school reunion through their 20th reunion, with each episode focusing on a seminal event from a year. When 2005 roles around, one of the friends is dead, but which one? And how did they die?
Stars:
Will Estes ("American Dreams"), Sean Faris ("life as we know it"), Dave Annable ("Little Black Book"), Alexa Davalos ("The Chronicles of Riddick"), Amanda Righetti ("The O.C.," "North Shore")

Love, Inc. (UPN, 9:30)
Denise Johnson (Shannen Doherty) is a wingwoman, a matchmaker and dating consultant who helps everybody around her find love. However, in a shocking bit of irony, she has problems with her own inability to find a soulmate.
Stars:
Shannen Doherty ("Charmed," "Beverly Hills, 90210"), Holly Robinson Peete ("For Your Love," "21 Jump Street")----NOTE—Last week Doherty was let go from this show, so I’m not too sure where it leaves it.

Conflicts: The aforementioned 8 hour.

Friday
I actually don’t watch tv on Friday. Can you believe it? But here are some new shows if you are interested.

Ghost Whisperer (CBS, 8)
A young wife (Jennifer Love Hewitt) can talk to dead people. And -- wouldn't you know it? -- the dead people want her help. Sometimes she gets simple directives from her ghostly friends, but other times the messages are confusing.

Threshold (CBS, 9)
An extra terrestrial craft has landed in the Atlantic Ocean and a team of experts is assembled to deal with all possible contingencies. Will the aliens be cute and friendly or ugly and scary?
Stars:
Carla Gugino, Charles S. Dutton

The Gate (Fox, 9)
Detective Graham Hale (Johnny Messner) works in San Francisco's Deviant Crime Unit. He tracks down the more bizarre crimes the city has to offer, but he's fighting his own demons. He's partnered with a rookie detective (Marguerite Moreau) who has a hidden agenda.

Inconceivable (NBC, 10)
Everything's coming up sperm samples and frozen embryos at the Family Options Fertility Clinic, where the patients are having troubles conceiving and the doctors and nurse and administrators are having problems of their own.
Stars:
Jonathan Cake ("Fallen"), Ming-Na ("ER")

Three Wishes (NBC, 8)
Amy Grant leads a team of experts into small towns and makes a variety of wishes come true. The Grammy winner helps perform miracles like reuniting families and saving jobs.

Twins (WB, 8:30)
Mitchee (Sara Gilbert) and Farrah (Molly Stanton) are twins, but they couldn't be any more different. One's a successful business woman. The other's a successful lingerie model. And their cooky mom is Melanie Griffith.

Sunday
Returning Shows:
Desperate Housewives, The Family Guy, Charmed

New Shows:
The War at Home (Fox, 8:30)
When they were teens, Dave (Michael Rapaport) and Vicky (Anita Barone) had very few limits and got away with everything. Now that they're the parents of teens, though, the couple has to try to set boundaries and raise their own kids properly, send them off to college and win the war at home.


So yeah, lots of changes ahead. And like I said, things are bound to change before September. Ohhhh, and that show with Scott Foley and Amy Acker, The Unit, it will be a midseason replacement for CBS.

Later this week we’ll discuss finales and Star Wars (I liked it). And is it me or is this looking like it could turn out to be the best summer movie season ever????