The NBC upfront

So...

NBC and Fox both announced their fall 2010 television schedules today. A lot of shows were cancelled, a lot of shows are actually coming back, and a lot of new shows were picked up. For those who don't know every year the big 5 networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW) get together and hold a big event for the press and advertisers and let them know what their schedules for the next year of TV will look like. It's called the "Upfronts" and it's where viewers generally get to find out if there favorite show isn't coming back or if that "cool new idea" (did you hear about the one with time travel and dinosaurs from Steven Spielberg?) is going to go from pilot to series.

Here's a few words on both the cancelled shows, the returning shows, and the new shows for Fox and NBC:

First NBC, who is looking to rebrand their image after having been in the ratings dump ever since Friends left the air (yes, it's really been that long). They've tried every which way to fix it, and this year they are going back to more scripted programming. They bid on the "hottest" scripts, i.e. the most expensive, and are promising a bold, new look for themselves. But when you are digging through garbage, it's not easy to make a diamond from a lump of coal -- especially with some of the nitwits they have in their development department. A prime example is the show Heroes, which had some pretty cool episodes in the first season when the characters were crossing paths so much, until about the middle of that season when things started to go down hill. Now there's a show that had a lot of potential, but bad writing and bad notes showed how you can take a hit show and totally flush it down the drain.

The show Chuck is coming back. Yay? For some reason it has a small, but loyal following. I watched it the first season and thought it was a B-. Fun, escapist, but a little forced. The second year it started with a whimper and then became completely unrealistic, with everyone who ever knew Chuck coming out of the cold as a spy, just like him, from his ex-girlfriend, to his ex-best friend, to even his dad! Come on!! Bringing it back for yet another season is a little like spinning the tires. It's probably not going to get any lower in the ratings, but in it's fourth season there's little chance it can get better ratings wise, especially when it is leading off Monday nights and not, say, following a hit show. Risky move having two brand new shows following it to boot.

Law and Order is done (cricket, cricket), but Law and Order: SVU will be back, as will "LOLA" a.k.a. Law and Order: Los Angeles - which is just like the original, now cancelled Law and Order, but with sunshine and movie stars.

The Office is back for another year (finally, a ray of hope!). What's that... Steve Carrel says this is his last year? Scratch the hope... Now, of course, NBC is already planning on continuing the show without him, but let me be clear, there is no The Office without Steve Carrel. Maybe a few years ago, but it's been on for like 7 years and the other characters just aren't dynamic enough to hold the show. Bringing on a new lead feels lame to me after this much time, as if they are trying too hard to keep it going (a la Scrubs) and we all know Jim and Pam, the other big characters on the comedy, are super boring these days. So no Carrel, no The Office.

It's counterpart, Parks and Recreations, is returning, as well. Finally finding it's voice in the second season, and with some good cross promotion scheduled for this summer, what does NBC do... pushes it back to the spring. Now, this seems like a hair-brained idea, and it is, but I'm willing to bet NBC did this because they think one of their new Thursday night comedies is going to fail and they want Parks and Rec around to replace it.

Speaking of new comedies, we have Outsourced, a good idea naturally stolen from somewhere else. This time idea is spun fron a movie, and like the original source, the TV show is about an American who is shipped to a call center in India and all the cultural misunderstandings that ensue. Has potential, but then again so did Heroes back in the day. I'm also nervous that this show will try to be too goofy with the call center being for a company that sells "bacon wallets."

Love Bites. With a mostly rotating cast, i.e. new faces each week (always a hard sell) and from someone that worked on Sex and the City (naturally). So far it reminds me of that show NBC already tried with Alicia Silverstone a few years ago. And like that show, it's an hour "dramedy" that really should only be a 1/2 hour.

Drama wise we have Chase, which at first glance sounds like a decent diversion on Monday's from Jerry Bruckheimer. It's described by the network as "a fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into the middle of a game of cat-and-mouse as a team of U.S. marshals hunts down America's most dangerous fugitives." The main character is a cowgirl "boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down the violent criminals on the run." Sounds like something already on TNT or USA with the Marshals and tough, female detective angle, but we'll see. Also troubling, it's up against CSI: Miami, which attracts the same crowd.

We also have the ultra-hush hush Event, about a guy who uncovers a... wait for it... "government conspiracy". ABC messed around with this territory a few years ago. Maybe NBC will have better luck.

And, finally, the new J.J. Abrams married spys drama Undercovers, which is essentially just "True Lies" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" except they cast an African-American man and woman in the lead roles to throw off the scent. It's "created" by the guy who created "October Road," also a childhood buddy of J.J.s, and if the guy who made October Road can't make this show work, well, darn it, I don't know who can. I guess it depends how much J.J. is involved (he's got a few movies to direct, after all) and how good he is, because, honestly, J.J. has had a few stinkers himself.

That's it for NBC. I'll come back later with the second half of this post on Fox.