Oh ABC I am not sure what to think of you now. Despite ABC’s drastic improvement over the past two years it has made some big moves and brought in numerous new shows. The big change is the move of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ from Sunday at 10 p.m. to Thursday at 9 p.m. opposite ‘CSI.’ Gone are hugely hyped new dramas from last year, ‘Commander-in-Chief’ and ‘Invasion.’ Returning are many reality shows including ‘The Bachelor,’ ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and ‘Wife Swap,’ Also gone is Monday Night Football, a tradition on ABC for decades it has moved to ESPN.
Here is a breakdown of the new series debuting in the fall.
Let’s Rob
A new comedy staring Donal Logue who recently appeared in ‘Grounded for Life.’ While I never watched that show Logue was great in the very underrated ‘Tao of Steve.’ Logue plays Eugene Gurkin who for the past 20 years has dreamt of opening a bar but his current janitorial job isn’t helping him earn enough to make his dream come true. Eugene decides to form a “gang” to rob Mick Jagge’s apartment. Problem being is that he and his gang have no knowledge on how to rob anyone. Sounds a bit like the gang from ‘Bottle Rocket.’
Help Me Help You
Ted Danson takes another crack at the comedy genre. Instead of playing a bartender who listens to people’s troubles he played therapist Dr. Bill Hoffman who leads his patients in group therapy. Sounds a bit like ‘Huff’ as a comedy. Hoff”¦man, is described as crazier and more self-obsessed than all of his patients.
The Nine
With ‘Invasion’ gonzo ABC tries to find another drama to take advantage of ‘Lost’s’ lead-in. Nine people are caught in a bank robbery gone wrong and are forced to endure a 52-hour standoff where more than one of them will end up dead. They will share a common bond of what happens inside the bank and will be forever affected and intertwined because of it. The show stars Chi McBride, from ‘Boston Public’, Tim Daly of ‘Wings’ fame and Scott Wolf of ‘Party of Five’ and ‘Everwood.’ So there will be a mini ‘Party of Five’ reunion with Wolf following his former older brother Matthew Fox. Each episode is set to have a ten minute flashback revealing more about the hostage crisis and how the nine people are still linked today. The flashback worked well for ‘Lost’ and not so well with ‘Reunion.’
Big Day
Another half-hour comedy, this one is described as a mix of ‘24′ and ‘Father of the Bride.’ Sorry I don’t see how that works as everyone know that Jack Bauer will kill the guy trying to marry his daughter. Basically the whole series revolves around the planning of the wedding of Alice (Marla Sokoloff, ‘Practice’ and ‘Desperate Housewives.’) and Danny (Josh Cooke, ‘Four Kings.’) I just don’t get these whole concept shows that essentially have a one-season life, eg. ‘Prison Break.’ Even if the writers are able to drag out a wedding preparation for one season, which I think will drive EVERY guy in the world insane, what are they going to do next year?
Notes from the Underbelly
So after watching a half-hour of a couple getting ready to marry ABC offers a half-hour of a couple who are getting ready to have a child. Andrew, played by Peter Cambor, a relative newcomer, and Lauren, played by Jennifer Westfeldt (‘Kissing Jessica Stein’) decide to keep the pregnancy secret. Needless to say that is a difficult prospect. It seems they want to avoid getting advice and “help” from intrusive friends and family. Yeah I can’t see how this show will last very long.
Six Degrees
ABC must love J.J. Abrams. With ‘Alias’ gone, Abrams brings ABC another drama that the network hopes will be as popular with audiences as his past work. You can kinda guess the idea of the show from the title, well sadly its not “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” But it does use the old idea of six degress of separation. Six different New Yorkers live their lives with no knowledge of how they impact one another. Their lives intertwine as the show goes along. Jay Hernandez of ‘Hostel’ fame, Erika Christensen from ‘Traffic’ and ‘The Perfect Score,’ Campbell Scott ‘Roger Dodger,’ and Bridget Moynahan, ‘I Robot’ star in the series. A decent cast with a solid production team, tied in with a ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ lead-in could mean J.J’s got another hit on his hands.
Betty the Ugly
Since Friday is mostly a dead night for TV it means networks sometimes try new things or just dump shows there. This is a one-hour comedy with some attractive, young people dealing with the superficial world of high fashion. The title character Betty is played by America Ferrera from ‘The Lords of Dogtown,’ and ‘The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants.’ Betty does not quite fit the mold of “model pretty” thus has a difficult time breaking into the world of fashion.
Men in Trees
A great name for a show. The show stars Anne Heche ‘Six Days and Seven Nights’ as relationship coach Marin Frist. After two bestselling books on how to be in charge of your own happiness and an upcoming wedding to her perfect man Marin thinks she has it all figured out. Until she finds out her fiancé is cheating on her. After getting stuck in a small town during a snow storm Marin finally opens up her eyes to the world around her. The show comes from the head writers of ‘Sex and the City,’ and James Mangold, the director of ‘Walk the Line.’
Brothers & Sisters
This drama focuses around the Walker clan. The group of adult children each have different lives and aspirations. They all gather to celebrate Kitty’s (Calista Flockhart, ‘Ally McBea’) birthday where their lives take a dramatic turn that could tear the family apart. Rachel Griffiths from ‘Six Feet Under,’ and Balthazar Getty from ‘Alias’ play two of the other Walker siblings. Following ‘Desperate Housewives’ indicates ABC has a great deal of hope for this show should mean this show will be given every chance to succeed.
Day Break
Detective Brett Hopper, played by Taye Diggs from ‘Kevin Hill,’ is stuck in a ‘Groundhog Day’ scenario Bill Murray is all too familiar with. He is forced to relieve a day over and over again. On this day Hopper is accused of killing Assistant District Attorney Alberto Garza. No one will believe his alibi and realizes he is being framed. Like Murray in ‘Groundhog Day,’ Hopper will have to figure how to fix what is wrong in his life for the day to end. Another “concept” show that I can’t really see how it can go more than one season.
Mid-Season Shows
Traveler follows three friends in grad school, two of whom are accused of bombing a famous New York museum and a third who goes missing during the explosion. The ‘Fugitive’ rip-off has the two buddies trying to find their friend and but everyone in America who has seen their faces on TV as suspects in the bombing. . Matthew Bomer from‘Tru Calling’, Logan Marshall-Green (‘The O.C.’) and Aaron Stanford from ‘X-Men 2′ star in the series.
In Case of Emergency. Jon Favreau who came to fame with ‘Swingers’ directs this comedy that has several former sitcom stars including Jonathan Silverman, ‘The Single Guy’ and Lori Laughlin, ‘Full House.’ Greg Germann, ‘Ally McBeal’ and David Arquette, ‘Scream’ also star. The series follows a quartet of people who all went to the same high school who haven’t quite found the ideal life. They do all end up accidentally reuniting with each other.
Greg Behrendt’s Wake-Up Call stars”¦you guessed it Greg Behrendt. This is being labelled an “Alternative Series.” Whatever that means? It seems Behrendt, an author/comic, will address a couple’s major issues and try to help their relationship. Ugh! Can you say Dr. Phil on crack?
Just for Laughs, yeah right! We have a show of that title here in Canada and I don’t see much laughing going on. ABC has licensed the show, which is essentially a bad Candid Camera rip off with comics play practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. It gets its title from the famous Montreal Comedy Festival.
Set for the Rest of Your Life takes on ‘Deal or No Deal’ in the primetime game show genre. This one takes the concept many scratch lotteries offer: a monthly sum for the rest of your life. Trick is how much money each month and how many months that amount is paid out for depends on how well the contestants do. It seems the contestant has a partner that will be in a sound-proof booth and can impact, either negatively or positively how the contestant does. Heck this could just work.
I like the whole college football on Saturday night, being a football fan. I don’t like the excess reality crap like ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and why can’t ‘The Bachelo’ just die already? The move of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ won’t affect me as I don’t watch ‘CSI’ but it could have an adverse impact on Grey’s ratings. The key will be if ABC can get one of two of its new dramas to become big hits.
Fall 2006
| Monday | Tuesday | Wedneday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 PM | Wife Swap | Dancing With The Stars | Dancing With The Stars |
| 9 PM | The Bachelor | LET’S ROB HELP ME HELP YOU |
Lost/DAY BREAK |
| 10 PM | What About Brian | Boston Legal | THE NINE |
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 PM | America’s Funniest Home Videos | |||
| 8 PM | BIG DAY NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY |
BETTY THE UGLY | Saturday Night College Football | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition |
| 9 PM | Grey’s Anatomy | MEN IN TREES | Desperate Housewives | |
| 10 PM | SIX DEGREES | 20/20 | BROTHERS & SISTERS |
Winter 2007
| Monday | Tuesday | Wedneday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 PM | Wife Swap | SET FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE | George Lopez According to Jim |
| 9 PM | Supernanny | LET’S ROB HELP ME HELP YOU |
Lost/DAY BREAK |
| 10 PM | What About Brian | Boston Legal | THE NINE |
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 PM | America’s Funniest Home Videos | |||
| 8 PM | BIG DAY NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY |
BETTY THE UGLY | Saturday Night College Football | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition |
| 9 PM | Grey’s Anatomy | MEN IN TREES | Desperate Housewives | |
| 10 PM | SIX DEGREES | 20/20 | BROTHERS & SISTERS |
*Note: ‘Day Break’ will be appearing in ‘Lost’s’ time slot. ‘Lost’ will air seven episodes with no reruns than ‘Day Break’ will come in and run what looks to be 13 episodes. ‘Lost’ will then return and go straight to the end of the year without any reruns.
Shows due at midseason but not on schedule:
American Inventor, Greg Behrendt’s Wake-up Call, In Case of Emergency, Just for Laughs, Traveller.
