NBC's Fall TV Preview

Well, the summer is almost over and that can only mean one thing, re-runs are over, and new television is upon us. This year, all networks have a chance to become THE station with the hottest shows, but no station needs ratings more than NBC. Last year was NBC's worst in ratings, leaving the executives scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get people to tune in. Many shows have been cut, and new experiments (some good, some horrible) have taken their place.

NBC built some good viewership last year with one of the best new shows around, Heroes. Heroes keeps its Monday night slot from last year (9:00), which means that every Monday, football fans will have to make a choice of what to watch, or simply fire up the Tivo. As with Heroes, NBC chose to keep it's Thursday night of comedy the same, with its hilarious lineup of My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, and Scrubs. As if people have not had enough of Howie Mandel and the mindless Deal or No Deal, NBC has decided to show it, not once, but twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday from 8:00-9:00. This will prove to be a mistake for NBC, as the ceiling for this type of game show has already been reached. Also returning for NBC are ER (Thursday at 10:00), Friday Night Lights (Friday at 9:00), Las Vegas (Friday at 10:00), The Biggest Loser (Tuesday from 8:00-9:30), Law and Order:SVU (Tuesday at 10:00, with an encore presentation Friday at 10:00), and Dateline (Saturday at 9:00). Speaking of The Biggest Loser, has there ever been a show that made you want to get off the couch and work out more than this show? Loser ranks right behind the Rocky movies only in terms of watching something that makes one think "I should be working out right now...It looks like so much fun!"

New to the NBC lineup this season are Chuck (Monday at 8:00), Journeyman (Monday at 10:00), Bionic Woman (Wednesday at 9:00),and Life (Wednesday at 10:00). Chuck is an action/comedy about an average Joe (or Chuck, as it were), who stumbles upon a bunch of government secrets by opening up an email. He then must go from leading a less than exciting life to being a secret agent, which reminds me instantly of Martin Short in Innerspace, one of the most underrated movies of all time. Journeyman tells the story of a man named Dan Vasser, who suddenly discovers the ability to travel through time and help people. Although this show boasts some amazing support, (Kevin Falls and Alex Graves of West Wing fame are writing, directing, and producing), I think this show looked more interesting when it was called Quantum Leap. Staying with the "I was an average person, and now I am special" theme, NBC has developed Bionic Woman which is about, you guessed it, a woman who gets in a car wreck then gets put back together with technology that makes her "Bionic". Life is about a detective who spends a long bout in prison serving time for a crime he didn't commit, gets set free, and now is a better detective.(??)

Returning on Sunday nights to NBC is Football Night America, and Sunday Night Football. The NBC studio crew for Football Night America boasts an outstanding cast featuring Bob Costas, an underrated Cris Collinsworth, the great Keith Olberman, former players Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis, and SI's Peter King. That may just be the best studio crew around this year. Announcing the actual game is the classic combo of Al Michaels and John Madden. Say what you will about Madden, but even in his old age he still stands up as one of the most knowledgeable color-men in the the business. One again, Andrea Kremer will be roaming the sidelines, where she always does an excellent job.

All in all, NBC will have to rely on the strength of Heroes, as well as the Thursday night comedy lineup. As with most networks, NBC saw success in a show about ordinary people that develop supernatural powers, so they went out and over-developed this concept with Chuck, Journeyman, and Bionic Woman. As stated previously, I also can't imagine that America won't get sick of Deal or No Deal, the same way we got sick of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Dog Eat Dog, 1 vs. 100, Identity, etc. Only NBC would cancel a great show like The Black Donnellys, so that we can all watch people point to briefcases in a game that involves less actual skill than any other game show in the history of television. Shame on you, NBC. Along with the Donnellys, NBC has also chosen to bag Grease: You're The One That I Want, Crossing Jordan, Andy Barker, P.I., Identity, Kidnapped, Raines, The Real Wedding Crashers, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Thank God You're Here, and Twenty Good Years. Of all these shows, perhaps Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will be missed the most, and the network has said it will probably air the remaining episodes that still haven't been televised. The Apprentice is still up in the air, with reality TV genius Mark Burnett still in negotiations with NBC.

Keeping in mind that NBC is coming off it's worst season of all time in 2006, it is no big surprise at all the changes that have taken place. Some of the changes are warranted, while some changes look as if the NBC executives may have hit the panic button a bit too early.