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UPFRONTS 2005, PART II
May 27, 2005
Last week, we looked at the fall schedules recently announced by ABC, NBC and the WB. This week, we turn our attention to CBS, UPN and Fox - all three of which found ratings success this season. Will the new crop of shows continue that trend?
CBS - Powered by "CSI," "CSI: Miami" and "Without a Trace," CBS again led all networks in total viewers. But cracks also showed up in the armor. "CSI: NY" wasn't the dominating smash the network wanted it to be, and "Joan of Arcadia" had a sophomore slump in terms of both ratings and quality that caused many a jaw to drop. Result: "Arcadia" got the axe, as did "Judging Amy."
Remember last week when I talked about how all the networks are jumping on the "Lost" bandwagon? Well, CBS is no different, bringing two dark fantasy shows to its lineup. The first is "The Ghost Whisperer," starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as a gal who communicates with the dead. (A blatant ripoff of NBC's "Medium," you say? Maybe. Until we find out, just marvel over the fact that one of Jenny Love's many pilots finally made it out of the starting gate.) The other is "Threshold," from former "Star Trek" writer Brannon Braga and David Goyer, who scripted the big-screen "Blade" movies and this summer's "Batman Begins." Fact: All but one or maybe two of these new sci-fi shows are going to fail. It'll be interesting to see which ones survive the glut.
CBS' most promising new series, by far, is "The Unit," which unfortunately won't premiere until mid-season. "The Unit" comes from two brilliant fellas named Shawn Ryan, who honed his chops on "Angel" before creating TV's best cop show, "The Shield," and David Mamet, the playwright who penned "Glengarry Glen Ross." The show centers on the lives of Delta Force agents and has a wicked great cast that includes Dennis Haysbert ("24"), Amy Acker ("Angel"), and Robert Patrick ("The X-Files"). I can't start watching this thing soon enough.
FOX - Welcome back to my good graces, Fox. You've renewed "Arrested Development," and, for that, we'll put our confrontational past behind us for a while. One really must applaud Fox's willingness to keep putting this show on, despite anemic ratings that have doomed many a quality Fox program.
"Arrested" is moving to Monday where it will be paired up with the promising new chef comedy "Kitchen Confidential" and twisty prison-break drama…uh…"Prison Break." ("24" takes over again in January for a nonstop season.)
On Thursday at 9, "Reunion" sounds kind of cool. It centers on a group of friends at their 20th high school reunion, and each episode will flash back to a different year of their lives. "Angel" fans may be happy to know that David Boreanaz returns to TV with "Bones," a "CSI"-esque procedural that has Boreanaz as an FBI agent teamed up with a forensic anthropologist (Emily Deschanel). That sounds…not nearly as good as "Angel."
Meanwhile, "That '70s Show" returns, sans Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher, demanding one to ask, why?
By the way, Fox will again air a smattering of original programming this summer, but the only show that looks any good is "The Inside," a "Silence of the Lambs"-type thriller that stars Rachel Nichols (oh, so easy on the eyes) and ex-"Firefly" space soldier Adam Baldwin as a character named Danny Love…which would be ludicrous, except it's Baldwin. If anyone can make a character named Danny Love cool, it's him.
UPN - TV's number-two netlet actually caught up a bit to the WB this year in terms of ratings and blew by it in terms of quality. The latter is thanks to "Veronica Mars," which was the season's best new show. (Yes, better than "Lost.") UPN caught a break last week when it was announced that the WB would be moving "One Tree Hill," a timeslot opponent that stole many a potential "Veronica" fan, to Thursday nights. However, UPN squandered away the advantage days later when they announced that "Mars" would move to Wednesdays at 9 opposite "Lost"!
Wow. If ever there was a situation that demands at Tivo - this is it. The change makes me worry for "Veronica"'s long-term future. You don't put a critically-admired but under-watched show up against one of TV's most talked-about series. Change your minds, UPN execs! Do it before it's too late! Still, at least "Veronica" gets a second season. Fans of "Kevin Hill" had no such luck; it was canned.
Beginning this fall will be "Everybody Hates Chris," a sitcom from the mind of, but not starring, Chris Rock. However, Rock will provide a voiceover to accompany his teenage stand-in (played by Tyler Williams) as he tries to find his way in a mostly white high school, circa 1982. Hopefully, "Chris" has more in coming with Rock's hilarious comedy routine than it does his less successful movies.
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