^The ANSON BIZ-ZINE
WADESBORO, ANSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A.

elbertreble
views, notions
and ramblings

     (July 16, 2009) -- It's just mid-July and I'm having sharp pangs of boredom. There's just so little fresh programming on television (that doesn't resemble a reality show) these days and, being an Atlanta Braves fan, the baseball race just isn't that exciting any more with them in the middle of the pack.
     I've tried to satisfy my TV hunger with "Burn Notice," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "In Plain Sight" on USA -- plus a dash of "The Closer" and "Saving Grace" on TNT -- but it just hasn't been enough for a television addict like myself.
     So, to make me feel better, I did some research on the upcoming Fall Season on network TV by browsing ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC websites. After an exhaustive morning jumping from network to network, I have come to an early conclusion that we can skip the new shows for the coming season and go to the mid-season replacements that will arrive in January, February or March.
     One observation that is apparent to me is that Jay Leno, who only had David Letterman to worry about at 11:35 p.m. Monday-Friday, will face an uphill battle in the 10 p.m. weeknight slot on NBC. On Mondays, "The Jay Leno Show" faces "CSI: Miami"; on Wednesdays, it's "CSI: New York"; and on Thursdays, it's "The Mentalist." He has a decent chance to win his time slot on Tuesdays -- going up against newcomers "The Good Wife" on CBS and "Forgotten" on ABC -- and on Fridays -- facing "Numb3rs" and "20-20."
     When "Fringe" got an early jump on its Tuesday night competition last Fall, I saw at least two episodes before "NCIS" began its run. For 2009-10, FOX has moved "Fringe" to Thursdays -- opposite the granddaddy of all procedural shows, "CSI." Granted, with Warrick, Sara and Grissom gone from "CSI," it may have a slim chance; it would mean, however, that "Fringe" would have to consistently place in the Top Ten Nielsen ratings every week. Personally, since I remain a true "CSI" fan, I don't think "Fringe" has the fire-power to place in the Top Thirty, let alone the Top Ten.
     Just to whet my readers' Fall appetite, here's a network-by-network rundown on new shows:

• ABC -- At least eight newcomers, including "Hank" with Kelsey Grammer, whose character has gone from the good life of Wall Street to the rural life of Middle America; "The Middle" with Patricia Heaton, who is a middle class, middle aged woman somewhere in the Midwest; "Cougar Town" with Courtney Cox and a Busty Philipps (oh, I think that's Busy Philipps); "Eastwick" with newbies in the roles of Kat, Joanna and Roxie; "Shark Tank," a reality show; "Modern Family," a fake reality show; "The Forgotten"; and "Flash Forward." Grammer and Heaton are on the rebound from last season's short-lived "Back to You" and are in the 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. time slots, respectively, on Wednesdays.
  
• CBS -- The "NCIS" spinoff, "NCIS: Los Angeles" has promise (as witnessed by a two-part "NCIS" season-ender back in May). Other newcomers include "Accidentally On Purpose) with Jenna Elfman , which has been sandwiched between "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and One Half Men" on Mondays; "The Good Wife" with Julianna Margulies; and "Three Rivers." Also, CBS has picked up "Medium" that NBC axed earlier this year. Elfman must shed her "Dharma" persona much like Thomas Gibson ridded himself of "Greg" on "Criminal Minds."
  
• CW -- Not much new here. "Melrose Place" sounds like CBS' "Harper's Island" without the weekly elimination of characters; "Beautiful Life" tells us about the lives of selected teenaged fashion models; and "Vampire Diaries" has two Dracula-like brothers (one good, the other evil) vying for a young woman's soul (and blood, of course).
  
• FOX -- What can I say ... FOX's offerings are not my cup of tea -- including "Brothers"; an animated "The Cleveland Show"; "Glee"; "Human Target"; "Sons of Tucson"; and a Saturday night talkfest hosted by Wanda Sykes that will go up against "Saturday Night Live" during the second half of the show.
  
• NBC -- Not much here either -- except for "The Jay Leno Show." There's "Community" with Joel McHale from "Talk Soup" with Chevy Chase at a community college; "Parenthood" with Maura Tierney; and "Trauma," a story about first responders (think Doc, Kim and Carlos from "Third Watch"). One more note about Leno's time slot battle, his lead-in shows include "Trauma," "The Biggest Loser," "Law and Order: SVU," "Parenthood" (later on "30 Rock") and "Southland," respectively.

• Sunday, Aug. 9 -- The Hall of Fame Week pre-season opener between Buffalo and Tennessee at 8 p.m. on NBC.
• Monday, Aug. 17 -- The Carolina Panthers at the New York Giants at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
• Saturday, Aug. 22 -- Carolina at Miami (pre-season).
• Saturday, Aug. 29 -- Baltimore at Carolina (pre-season).
• Thursday, Sept. 3 -- Pittsburgh at Carolina (pre-season).

     The big boys begin playing for real on Thursday, Sept. 10, when Tennessee visits Pittsburgh. The big boys at Carolina begin for real with a Sept. 13 home game against Philadelphia at 1 p.m. on FOX.