Goodbye, "Everwood." Can't stop "7th Heaven." Here's the CW's lineup for the fall:

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                    EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS

7:30-8:00 PM                    ALL OF US

8:00-8:30 PM                    GIRLFRIENDS

8:30-9:00 PM                    THE GAME (New Series)

9:00-10:00 PM                  AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL (Encore Presentation)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                    7^TH HEAVEN

9:00-10:00 PM                  RUNAWAY (New Series)

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                    GILMORE GIRLS

9:00-10:00 PM                  VERONICA MARS

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                 AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

9:00-10:00 PM                  ONE TREE HILL

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                    SMALLVILLE

9:00-10:00 PM                  SUPERNATURAL

FRIDAY

8:00-10:00 PM                  FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN!

New show info:

Being the wife or girlfriend of a pro-football player might sound like a glamorous and stress-free existence, but Melanie Barnett is about to discover the truth.  Melanie’s boyfriend, Derwin, is the new third-string wide receiver for the San Diego Sabers.  While Derwin worries about the plays on the field, Melanie learns about the power plays that NFL wives use to get their men the best agents, managers, endorsements, merchandising deals and even the “in” charity.  As she deals with egos, groupies and image consultants, Melanie is finding out how THE GAME is played among the women behind the athletes.  THE GAME stars Aldis Hodge as Derwin, Coby Bell as Jason, Tia Mowry as Melanie, Hosea Chanchez as Malik, and Wendy Raquel Robinson as Tasha.  THE GAME is from Happy Camper productions and Grammnet Productions in association with CBS Paramount Network Television with executive producers Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier,” “Girlfriends,” “Medium”), Mara Brock-Akil (“Girlfriends,” “Moesha,” “The Jamie Foxx Show”) and Steve Stark (“Medium,” “The In-Laws”). 

The Raders look like a normal middle-class American family, with a dad, Paul Rader, his lovely wife Lily, teenagers Henry and Hannah and 8-year-old Tommy.  Those are their real names, but as they struggle to blend into a new life in Bridgewater, Iowa, they are all using secret identities.  This family is on the run, hiding from the legal system that unjustly accused Paul Radar of a terrible and violent crime.  Adding to the danger, the real killer is now threatening the lives of the Rader children.  As Paul works to protect his loved ones and uncover the evidence that will clear him, he lives with the daily fear that someone will accidentally reveal the family's dark secret in RUNAWAY, The CW's new one-hour drama. 

RUNAWAY stars Donnie Wahlberg as Paul Rader, Leslie Hope as Lily Rader, Dustin Milligan as Henry Rader, Sarah Ramos as Hannah Rader, Nathan Gamble as Tommy Rader, Susan Floyd as Gina Bennett, Karen LeBlanc as Angela Huntley.  RUNAWAY is from Sony Pictures Television, Darren Star Productions and Golly Inc. with executive producers Darren Star (“Sex and the City,” “

Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills , 90210”) and Ed Zuckerman (“Law & Order”), creator/co-executive producer Chad Hodge and co-executive producer

Susie Fitzgerald. 

Here's what Fox has in mind for the coming season, pasted from the announcement. It's in two pieces, fall and January, since Fox prepares formal plans for January based on the return of "American Idol." New shows are in bold type.

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2006

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        PRISON BREAK

9:00-10:00 PM                      VANISHED

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        STANDOFF

9:00-10:00 PM                      HOUSE

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                       BONES

9:00-10:00 PM                      JUSTICE

THURSDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                        ‘TIL DEATH

8:30-9:00 PM                        HAPPY HOUR         

9:00-10:00 PM                      THE O.C.

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        NANNY 911

9:00-10:00 PM                      TRADING SPOUSES: MEET YOUR NEW MOMMY

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                       COPS

8:30-9:00 PM                        COPS

9:00-10:00 PM                  AMERICA’S MOST WANTED:

                                                AMERICA STRIKES BACK

11:00 PM-MIDNIGHT           MADtv

MIDNIGHT-12:30 AM           TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                       FOOTBALL OVERRUN (COMEDY ENCORES)

7:30-8:00 PM                        FOOTBALL OVERRUN (COMEDY ENCORES)

8:00-8:30 PM                        THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM                        AMERICAN DAD

9:00-9:30 PM                        FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM                      THE WAR AT HOME

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: BEGINNING JANUARY 2007

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        STANDOFF

9:00-10:00 PM                      24

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        AMERICAN IDOL Performance Show

9:00-10:00 PM                      HOUSE

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        JUSTICE

9:00-9:30 PM                        AMERICAN IDOL Results Show

9:30-10:00 PM                  THE LOOP

THURSDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                        ‘TIL DEATH

8:30-9:00 PM                        HAPPY HOUR         

9:00-10:00 PM                      THE O.C.

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                        BONES

9:00-10:00 PM                      THE WEDDING ALBUM

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                        COPS

8:30-9:00 PM                        COPS

9:00-10:00 PM                      AMERICA’S MOST WANTED:

                                                AMERICA STRIKES BACK

11:00 PM-MIDNIGHT           MADtv

MIDNIGHT-12:30 AM           TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                        COMEDY REPEATS

7:30-8:00 PM                        KING OF THE HILL

8:00-8:30 PM                        THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM                        AMERICAN DAD

9:00-9:30 PM                        FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM                      THE WAR AT HOME

2006-2007 FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

NEW SERIES SYNOPSES

The following new dramas will premiere this fall on FOX:

VANISHED (Mondays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT): SARA (Joanne Kelly, “Whiskey Echo”) is the beautiful young wife of prominent Georgia Senator JEFFREY COLLINS (John Allen Nelson, “24”), and she has gone missing. But before the FBI can solve the mystery of where she is, they first need to figure out who she really is. Through the eyes of Senior FBI Agent GRAHAM KELTON (Gale Harold, “Queer as Folk,” “Martha Behind Bars”), ambitious reporter JUDY NASH (Rebecca Gayheart, “Nip/Tuck,” “Harvard Man”) and the distraught members of the Collins family, viewers will journey inside a sensational, mysterious national soap opera. Kelton, working with Agent LIN MEI (Ming-Na, “ER”), uncovers enigmatic clues that suggest Sara’s disappearance may be part of a large, sinister conspiracy. Created by Josh Berman (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) and directed by executive producer Mimi Leder (“The Peacemaker,” “Deep Impact”), VANISHED combines the investigative twists and turns of “CSI,” the nonstop pace and tension of FOX’s “24” and the scope of “The Da Vinci Code.”

PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Paul Redford

CREATED BY: Josh Berman

DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Mimi Leder

CAST: Gale Harold as Kelton, John Allen Nelson as Jeffrey, Joanne Kelly as Sara, Rebecca Gayheart as Judy, Margarita Levieva as Marcy, John Patrick Amedori as Max, Chris Egan as Ben, Robert Hoffman as Adam, Ming-Na as Lin Mei

STANDOFF (Tuesdays, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT - in fall): There’s no crisis situation they can’t handle … unless it involves each other. MATT FLANNERY (Ron Livingston, “Sex and the City,” “House”) and EMILY LEHMAN (Rosemarie DeWitt, “Cinderella Man”) are the top-ranked negotiators in the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU). They’re trained to talk their way through volatile situations. They’re experts at knowing what makes other people tick. They’re also sleeping together … a secret that they agreed to keep to themselves, until Matt reveals it to the entire world during a tense hostage standoff. The public revelation causes friction between Matt, who relies on gut instinct, and Emily, an academic who analyzes every move. Their relationship also gets them into major trouble with their boss CHERYL CARRERA (Gina Torres, “Alias,” “Firefly,” “24”), head of the Los Angeles CNU, and raises eyebrows among their CNU colleagues, including intelligence officer LIA MATHERS (Raquel Alessi, “Ghost Rider”). While Matt and Emily really should be split up for being romantically involved, they’re too valuable as a team. STANDOFF combines the relationship banter of audience favorites like “Moonlighting” with the adrenaline-paced suspense of hits like “24.” The series advances a fundamental idea: that in life and in love, “Everything is a negotiation.”

PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Craig Silverstein, Tim Story

WRITER: Craig Silverstein

DIRECTOR: Tim Story

CAST: Ron Livingston as Matt, Rosemarie DeWitt as Emily, Michael Cudlitz as Frank, Gina Torres as Cheryl, Raquel Alessi as Lia

JUSTICE (Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT - in fall): From Jerry Bruckheimer, executive producer of “CSI” and “Without a Trace,” comes JUSTICE, an unflinching, behind-the-scenes look at the way high-profile cases are tried in the media age. JUSTICE features a dream team of four lawyers from disparate backgrounds who join forces to tackle the most controversial and newsworthy cases. With their unique skill sets and the power of forensic law, this formidable team becomes indispensable to the law firm of Turk, Nicholson, Tuller & Gaines. RON TURK (Victor Garber, “Alias,” “Titanic”) is the face seen on every media talk show in the country – and he wants it that way. He’s great at landing a client, spinning a case and getting his way, but juries hate him. Standing behind Ron – as far away from the cameras as possible – is TOM NICHOLSON (Kerr Smith, “Charmed”), the heart of the firm. Tom is a brilliant litigator whose Everyman, earnest manner makes him Ron’s alter ego. LUTHER GAINES (Eamonn Walker, “Oz”), famous in the African-American community, is well-connected, politically motivated and in possession of an uncanny ability to take a step back and assess the merits of a case from both the prosecution’s and the defense’s perspectives. ALDEN TULLER (Rebecca Mader, “The Devil Wears Prada”) is a young, ambitious and brilliant clinician who approaches each case analytically, uncovering ways to destroy expert witnesses on cross-examination.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Warner Bros. Television, Jerry Bruckheimer Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Jonathan Shapiro

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: David McNally

TELEPLAY BY: Tyler Bensinger, Jonathan Shapiro

CAST: Victor Garber as Ron, Kerr Smith as Tom, Eamonn Walker as Luther, Rebecca Mader as Alden

The following drama is scheduled to premiere in January on FOX:

THE WEDDING ALBUM (Fridays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT): From executive producers Andy Tennant and Wink Mordaunt (“Hitch,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Ever After”) comes a series that captures the ups and downs of tying the knot through the eyes of the second-most important man in the room – the wedding photographer. TONY ZUTTO (Bruno Campos, “Nip/Tuck,” “ER”) is the guy everyone wants to capture their big day. But just because he’s working every high-profile ceremony in town doesn’t mean he’ll be walking down the aisle himself anytime soon. Tony’s near-celebrity status on the marriage circuit – combined with his own less-than-stellar family history – has turned him into a serial bachelor and consummate playboy … at least until Tony hires new assistant MILLA CAVENDISH (Tara Summers, “Alfie”), a feisty and alluring young Brit. Unlike the carefree encounters Tony’s had with his share of bridesmaids over the years, Milla and her comrades-in-arms, sassy roommate GRETCHEN (Eva Pigford, “America’s Top Model”) and photo lab tech BRUNO (Jayce Bartok, “Law & Order”), will keep Tony on his toes. Also keeping his wild ways in check are PETER (Ptolemy Slocum, “Hitch”), Tony’s strait-laced half-brother and a minister to boot; Tony’s gregarious father DANNY (Tony Lo Bianco, “Law & Order”), who is always ready to dispense a helping of advice along with the liquor he serves at his neighborhood bar; and GWEN (Ashlie Atkinson, “Rescue Me”), Tony’s take-charge office manager. From the tempestuous rehearsal dinners and unorthodox ceremonies to the wild aftermaths and poignant family disasters, THE WEDDING ALBUM proves that things are definitely more interesting when every day at the “office” is the most important day of someone else’s life.

PRODUCED BY: Fox Television Studios and 20^th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS/WRITERS: Andy Tennant, Wink Mordaunt

DIRECTOR: Andy Tennant

CAST: Bruno Campos as Tony, Tara Summers as Milla, Tony Lo Bianco as Danny, Ashlie Atkinson as Gwen, Jayce Bartok as Bruno, Eva Pigford as Gretchen, Ptolemy Slocum as Peter

The following new comedies will join the FOX schedule this fall:

‘TIL DEATH (Thursdays, 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT): ‘TIL DEATH is a comedy about middle-aged EDDIE (Brad Garrett, “Everybody Loves Raymond”) and JOY STAMM (Joely Fisher, “Desperate Housewives”), who are on day 8,743 of their marriage and have the battle scars to prove it. Their new next-door neighbors are young newlyweds STEPH (Kat Foster, “Law & Order”) and JEFF WOODCOCK (Eddie Kaye Thomas, “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”) – idealistic, passionate, adorable and married for all of 12 days. It’s a show about new marriage versus old marriage, about keeping the romance alive – or at least staying together so you have someone to drive you to the hospital for your operations. Eddie is a cynical realist who considers himself an expert on most topics. A high school history teacher, he’s learned well the lessons of history and applies the basic principles to his marriage: all fights are about power, land and resources – and women love to kill fun. A veteran of the marriage wars, Eddie freely gives his advice to the younger, idealistic Jeff, who’s the new Vice Principal at Eddie’s school. Of course, Eddie’s little secret all along is that he loves Joy more than anything. And however brash and sardonic Joy herself appears, she loves Eddie right back.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Sony Pictures Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS/WRITERS: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa

DIRECTOR: Ted Wass

CAST: Brad Garrett as Eddie, Joely Fisher as Joy, Eddie Kaye Thomas as Jeff, Kat Foster as Steph

HAPPY HOUR (Thursdays, 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT): Straight arrow HENRY BECKMAN (John Sloan, “The OH in Ohio”) had it all: a great job, a perfect girlfriend and a sweet apartment. He was a big fish in the small pond of Amsterdam, Missouri. And then he let HEATHER (Brooke D’Orsay, “King’s Ransom”) talk him into moving to Chicago to work in her family business, where it all went wrong. In the space of one morning, Henry gets dumped by Heather, learns he can no longer work for Heather’s uncle, and gets kicked out of their apartment. It’s in this vulnerable state that he meets his new roommate, a vain, flashy, loveable rogue named LARRY CONE (Lex Medlin, “Still Standing”). Larry is a modern-day Dean Martin who is looking for a new protégé to teach the wisdom of staying single and enjoying the good life. Larry’s last roommate and best friend, BRAD (Nat Faxon, “Joey”), has gotten engaged to the shrew TINA (Jamie Denbo, “Must Love Dogs”), a cold and controlling fiancée who’s immune to Larry’s considerable charm. Under Larry’s tutelage, Henry begins to rebuild his life and goes to work for Larry’s childhood friend AMANDA (Beth Lacke, “The Rest of Your Life”), a beautiful mess who’s unsuccessfully trying to emulate her perfect ideal of womanhood, Kelly Ripa. Will Henry manage to hold onto his traditional values and remain a hopeless romantic? Or will Larry indeed “build a better Brad”?

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Warner Bros. Television, Werner-Gold-Miller

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo, Tom Werner, Eric Gold, Jimmy Miller

WRITERS: Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo

DIRECTOR: Andy Ackerman

CAST: John Sloan as Henry, Lex Medlin as Larry, Nat Faxon as Brad, Jamie Denbo as Tina, Beth Lacke as Amanda, Brooke D’Orsay as Heather

The following comedy will air at mid-season on FOX:

THE WINNER (Day and Time TBD): A 43-and-a-half-year-old narrator, who is incredibly rich and successful, looks way back to 1994, when he lost his innocence and started to become a man – at the tender age of 32. In 1994, GLEN ABBOTT (Rob Corddry, “The Daily Show”), still living with his parents, finally steps out into the world and tries to make something of himself when the only girl he’d ever kissed, the radiant ALISON MILLER (Erinn Hayes, “Everwood,” “Kitchen Confidential”), returns to town. Driven by the desire to become a success and win Alison’s heart, Glen goes through his “wonder years” a mere 20 years older than, well, most everyone. But it’s not in vain, as this unlikely underdog will eventually transform from fear-riddled underachiever to the richest man in Buffalo in a mere five years. Luckily, Glen doesn’t have to go though this awkward period alone. He becomes best friends with the only person he can truly relate to: Alison’s 13-year-old son JOSH (Keir Gilchrist, “A Lobster Tale”). Josh is a fellow hypochondriac, and they help each other survive “puberty.” Glen also receives parental guidance from his absurdly enabling mother IRENE (Julie Hagerty, “Girlfriends,” “Malcolm in the Middle”) and his supportive but quasi-rage-aholic dad RON (Lenny Clarke, “Rescue Me,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”).

PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS/WRITERS: Seth MacFarlane, Ricky Blitt

CREATED BY: Ricky Blitt

DIRECTOR: Terry Hughes

CAST: Rob Corddry as Glen, Keir Gilchrist as Josh, Erinn Hayes as Alison, Julie Hagerty as Irene, Lenny Clarke as Ron

The following unscripted series are scheduled to premiere this fall on FOX:

DUETS (Thursday and Friday in September, Time TBD): DUETS, from Simon Cowell, pairs established singing stars with celebrities outside the music industry to make beautiful music together by competing as duos for charity. The show will follow the professional singers as they instruct their partners, choose songs and perform duets in front of a panel of judges and a live studio audience. After each episode, viewers will vote for their favorite duets. The winning pair will emerge from the competition in perfect harmony, while the losers definitely will have to change their tune.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Simco, Fox Television Studios

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Simon Cowell

TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN (Premieres Thursday, Sept. 16, Midnight-12:30 AM ET/PT): TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN may look like a talk show, but it is emphatically a comedy show. This fast-paced half-hour combines traditional elements of the late-night format with bold and irreverent comedy sketches – both inside and outside the studio. Hosted by Emmy-nominated writer Spike Feresten (“Seinfeld,” “The Late Show with David Letterman”), TALK SHOW gives the staid late-night format a long-overdue update. Among other things, this refreshing approach to the genre uses guests in unpredictable ways, like delivering the monologue and performing in the comedy sketches. Additionally, the show features a staff of writer-performers, hilarious field pieces and much more.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fox Television Studios

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Spike Feresten

HOST: Spike Feresten

The following unscripted series is scheduled to air next spring on FOX:

ON THE LOT (Day and Time TBD): Aspiring director/filmmakers from across the country will vie for the opportunity of a lifetime when Mark Burnett, Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Television and FOX join forces on this exciting new unscripted series. Ultimately, one filmmaker will rise above the rest and will be rewarded with a studio development deal, ON THE LOT at DreamWorks. A group of 16 undiscovered talents will be brought to Hollywood and divided into several teams. Every week, each team will produce a short film in an assigned genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. With one member selected as the director and other members helping produce, they’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer. But with the clock ticking, and other teams working with the same genre or premise, they’ll all need to match their vision with decisiveness, execution and flexibility. The competition will air on two nights weekly. The films will be shown and critiqued in front of a live audience during the one-hour “Film Premiere” episode. The judging panel will include a motion picture executive, a film critic and well-respected guest judges. But the filmmakers also will be subjected to perhaps the harshest judge of all … the public. It will be FOX viewers whose votes ultimately determine which film should be left on the cutting room floor. On the half-hour “Box Office” results show, the director of the losing feature will be sent home, leaving that team with fewer contestants to help produce the next week’s film. As the competition continues and more directors are eliminated, the remaining filmmakers will have to work individually, creating a new film every week until only the most talented individual is anointed the winner, whisked away to the DreamWorks studio, met by Steven Spielberg and shown to his or her new office … ON THE LOT.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television, Amblin Television.

CREATORS AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Mark Burnett, Steven Spielberg

CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Conrad Riggs

Here's tonight's "Idol" podcast with Amy Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_results_051706.mp3

The following are notes I wrote before the podcast. I had hoped to add something about "Lost" afterward, but it has gotten late and I'm not paying as close attention to it as I would like. So I expect to post something about it tomorrow morning.

Let's see, the DVRs are handling "Alias," "Bones,"  "Lost," "Amazing Race," "American Idol'' and "CSI:NY." I watched the first hour of "Amazing Race" while going into another room (since the DVR had the main set tied up) to keep an eye on the Cavaliers-Pistons game. For the second hour, I've paced into one room where '"Race" is going and into another room, where I'm flipping between "Idol" and the Cavs.

Fortunately, "Idol" has been mostly skippable, time filled with homecomings and performances/plugs of songs on this year's CD. (Taylor did the Doobies' "Takin' It to the Streets," Katharine Aretha's "Think" and I missed most of Elliott during my channel-hopping, although I did see tons of tears from Paula, who is openly rooting for Elliott.)

Unfortunately, Cavs-Pistons is a tight game, and the first leg of "Amazing Race"  was non-elimination, keeping all three teams in it. Lots to watch and make the heart pump. Cavs are up 2 with less than 28 seconds left, and "Race" has a killer choose-flags-of-nations challenge…

CAVS WIN IT. Holy cow. Feels more and more like the Cavs are tasting destiny…

BJ & TYLER win "The Amazing Race," fighting off Eric & Jeremy in the flag challenge at the end. Pretty nice night for good guys (and, in fact, all the remaining three were good guys) although I am sure some sourpusses will complain about tonight's Japan competitions since one of the Hippies speaks Japanese.

Elliott also seemed like a nice guy, but he's done on "American Idol." Show says the vote was really close (even closer than estimated by www.dialidol.com ), with less than five-tenths of a percentage point separating first from third. My guess is that Taylor was first and Katharine second, but they didn't say that officially on the show. But, if first is 33.68 percent and second is 33.26 percent, it's still anybody's game. And I'll have to think some about who is more likely to get Elliott's votes.

And another network checks in… (N) refers to new shows. (NT) means a new time period.

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 PM              HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (NT)

8:30-9:00 PM             THE CLASS (N)

9:00-9:30 PM              TWO AND A HALF MEN

9:30-10:00 PM            THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE

10:00-11:00 PM         CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              NCIS

9:00-10:00 PM            THE UNIT

10:00-11:00 PM         SMITH (N)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             JERICHO (N)

9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS

10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: NY

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              SURVIVOR

9:00-10:00 PM            CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

10:00-11:00 PM         SHARK (N)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              GHOST WHISPERER

9:00-10:00 PM            CLOSE TO HOME

10:00-11:00 PM           NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              CRIMETIME SATURDAY

9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMETIME SATURDAY

10:00-11:00 PM          48 HOURS: MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM              60 MINUTES

8:00-9:00 PM              THE AMAZING RACE (NT)

9:00-10:00 PM            COLD CASE (NT)

10:00-11:00 PM          WITHOUT A TRACE (NT)

Me again: "King of Queens," though not on CBS's fall schedule, has been renewed as a backup show. Couple of surprises, to me at least, on the new lineup. "The Amazing Race" going to Sunday is one. I'm already worried that I will forget it's there, much the way I would forget "West Wing" is on Sunday. And shifting "Without a Trace" to Sunday feels risky; it's done very well on Thursdays at 10 — although the network may grab the drama crowd, since NBC will have football at that time and ABC has moved "Grey's Anatomy" to Thursdays in order to try out a new drama at 10 p.m. Sundays. (See my recap of ABC's schedule in a previous post.)

Getting back to CBS's announcement, here are descriptions of the new series:

The new comedy is:

THE CLASS (Monday, 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT), from Emmy Award winner David Crane ("Friends") and Emmy Award nominee Jeffrey Klarik ("Mad About You"), is a comedy about the lives of a group of 20-somethings who are inextricably bound together having shared the same third grade class.  Now face to face at an impromptu reunion to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the day they met, they wonder if they'll have anything in common besides vague memories of playground kisses and underwear sightings on the monkey bars.  Turns out they do.  After two decades apart for most of them, some are eager to show off, some want to rekindle old crushes and others just want to satisfy their curiosity.  Whatever the case, their lives will intersect from this point forward, sharing childhood memories and dealing with adult issues — career, relationships and the general direction or misdirection life will take them.  Jason Ritter ("Joan of Arcadia"), Heather Goldenhersh ("The Merchant of Venice"), Lizzy Caplan ("Related"), Jon Bernthal ("Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman"), Sean Maguire ("Eve"), Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Putnam County Spelling Bee"), Lucy Punch ("Ella Enchanted") and Andrea Anders ("Joey") also star.  Multiple Emmy Award winner James Burrows directs. Crane, Klarik and Burrows are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television.

The new dramas are:

SMITH (Tuesday, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) stars Emmy Award winner Ray Liotta ("ER," "Goodfellas,") as a criminal mastermind in a drama about a close-knit crew of career criminals who plot and execute intricate and ingenious high-stakes heists across the country.  Though Bobby Stevens (Liotta) appears to be a regular family man with a nine-to-five job, he's actually an expert thief who is seeking just two or three more big jobs so he can finally leave the business for a comfortable, lawful lifestyle with his wife, Hope (Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen, "Sideways").  Bobby's second family, his core band of partners, each bring their own areas of expertise to pulling off the biggest and most sophisticated armed robberies.  The FBI is determined to catch the team but is most interested in capturing "Smith," the crew's mysterious leader and the brains behind the entire operation.  It remains to be seen whether Bobby will be able to extricate himself in time from the scores that give him such a rush, or if his retirement will be a forced one — behind bars. Jonny Lee Miller ("Trainspotting"), Franky G ("Saw II"), Simon Baker ("The Guardian") and Amy Smart ("Felicity") also star.  Emmy Award winner John Wells ("ER," "The West Wing") is the executive producer for Warner Bros. Television.

JERICHO (Wednesday, 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they're the only Americans left alive. Fear of the unknown propels Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communication and power is shut down. The town starts to come apart at the seams as terror, anger and confusion bring out the very worst in some residents.  But in this time of crisis, as sensible people become paranoid, personal agendas take over and well-kept secrets threaten to be revealed, some people will find an inner strength they never knew they had and the most unlikely heroes will emerge.  Skeet Ulrich ("Scream"), Gerald McRaney ("Ike: Countdown to D-Day"), Ashley Scott ("Dark Angel"), Pamela Reed ("Proof of Life"), Kenneth Mitchell ("The Recruit"), Lennie James ("Sahara"), Sprague Grayden ("Six Feet Under"), Michael Gaston ("Prison Break") and Erik Knudsen ("Saw II") star.  Jon Turteltaub ("National Treasure"), Stephen Chbosky ("Rent") and Carol Barbee ("Judging Amy") are executive producers for CBS Paramount Network Television, in association with Junction Entertainment.

SHARK (Thursday, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) stars multiple Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner James Woods ("Ghosts of Mississippi," "ER") as Sebastian Stark, a charismatic, supremely self-confident defense attorney who, after a shocking outcome in one of his cases and a personal epiphany, brings his cutthroat tactics to the prosecutor's office.  As the head of the Los Angeles District Attorney's High Profile Crime Unit, Stark works for Jessica Devlin, (Jeri Ryan, "The O.C."), the ambitious and accomplished D.A. who despises his ruthless strategies. Devlin teams him with a group of young prosecutors who are about to have the learning experience of a lifetime because, though Stark is seeking to redeem himself, he has no intention of cooling his underhanded approach to cases just because he's now working for the "good guys."  Sam Page ("American Dreams"), Alexis Cruz ("American Family"), Sarah Carter ("Numb3rs"), Danielle Panabaker ("Mom at Sixteen"), Romy Rosemont ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") and Sophina Brown ("Without a Trace") also star.  Academy Award nominee Spike Lee directs.  Academy Award winner Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind," "24"), (David Nevins ("Arrested Development"), Ian Biederman ("Crossing Jordan") and Ed Redlich ("Without A Trace") are executive producers for Imagine Entertainment, in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television.

Here's tonight's podcast:

http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_show_051606.mp3

As for the notes, I started them before the podcast, only to see them eaten before they were saved. The following was written after the podcast, but includes pretty much everything I had written before hand — along with a correction of one thing I said on the podcast. Here goes.

With three songs each, the "Idol" contestants covered decades of music — some songs dating back to before their grandparents were born. But there was some good stuff to be found.

I thought Katharine was the performer of the night, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her voted off, either, although I suspected Elliott was in more trouble. The only shock: If Taylor, who's almost being carried around the show in a sedan chair at this point, was voted off. (I know, I promised not to make predictions. I was nudged into it on the podcast, so I might as well say the same thing here.)

First round: Songs chosen by Clive Davis, music mogul and identical twin of Yertle the Turtle. Order in this and each other round — Elliott, Katharine, Taylor, set up tidily so Taylor can close the show. Clive assigns Elliott "Open Arms" by Journey, which on paper seems like a good choice.

(An aside: Everything should seem like a good choice tonight. CD sales and concert tickets are riding on the show at this point, and no one wants to make things too challenging for the singers.)

Elliott's good on the verse then falters in the chorus; he can't quite make those Steve Perry notes. Still, fairly good. B from me.

Katharine gets R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." Every time she wants to get big, she screeches. Paula seems ready to say something really critical, then hesitates and turns it over to Randy. (Note: On tonight's podcast with Amy Gustafson, I thought this moment occurred after an Elliott performance. I was wrong, as I learned when I rechecked my DVR of the show after the podcast.) Randy blames song choice. Katharine notes that she did not pick the song. She gets a B minus for the song, and a pat on the back for the ''song choice" rejoinder.

Clive hands Taylor a big gift: Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark." Can't remember if I've heard a Springsteen song on the show before. Taylor starts off well, then settles into mere competency. Part of the problem is the band, pallid compared to the textured Bruce original. He brings out Paula to dance with him in a moment that looks about as spontaneous as that Rebecca Romijn bit last week — and another sign of how much the show is behind Taylor. For his song, though, I give him a B minus.

Second round: Judges pick songs. Paula, who has decided that Elliott is a "funky white boy" (her mantra for tonight), gives him "What You Won't Do For Love" by Bobby Caldwell. Strong start gets wobbly fast. Not so funky after all. C plus.

Simon assigns Katharine "Over the Rainbow." She nails it big time, sweet and slow. A minus.

Taylor's gift from Randy is Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful." He doesn't nail it. I don't understand what he was trying when he drops his voice on "to me," as if he has lost all ability to sing. Lots of weird grimaces, too. C.

Round Three: Contestant choices, or, If you have messed up everything so far, here is your chance to redeem yourself with something you know.

Elliott, for reasons that elude me, goes with Ray Charles's "I Believe to My Soul," although he says he's doing it a la Donny Hathaway. There's a tricky lyric in it that people have to rewrite because it had Ray's name in it; Elliott's version mangles the line. Ho-hum performance, too. C.

Probably because she knew "Over the Rainbow" was her big moment, Katharine gets giddy with "I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues," an Ella Fitzgerald tune co-written by Duke Ellington. It's fun, and it does swing some, and it's a nice change from "Rainbow." B plus.

People like Taylor associate "Try A Little Tenderness" with Otis Redding, and Otis does have a superb version. But it would have been funny if, after announcing the song, Taylor had replicated Bing Crosby's version from the '30s. Only Bing's rendition is kind of horrible. But when you're trying to redo Otis's, you will almost always end up in the shadows. C plus.

Katharine tops my card for the night, and Elliott has a slight edge over Taylor. We'll see how the vote looks.

ABC announced its new lineup today. If you care about returning shows, for fall or mid-season the network has renewed "Grey's Anatomy" (which is moving to Thursday nights), "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Boston Legal," "Dancing With the Stars," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "George Lopez," "Supernanny," "What About Brian," "According to Jim," "America's Funniest Home Videos," "American Inventor," "The Bachelor" and "Wife Swap."

In other words, "In Justice" and "The Evidence" are done, as is "Invasion," which a top ABC executive still calls "a great show," but not successful enough to keep on the air. "Commander in Chief" is done as a series, but there may be a two-hour TV-movie with the characters.

Here's the schedule. New shows are in bold type. When two shows are listed for a time period, one will air to its seasonal conclusion, then the other will take over.

Monday

8 p.m. — "Wife Swap"

9 p.m. — "The Bachelor/Supernanny"

10 p.m. — "What About Brian"

Tuesday

8 p.m. — "Dancing With the Stars"/"Set for the Rest of Your Life" (reality, with contestants vying for a big paycheck for every month of their lives)

9 — "Let's Rob.." (comedy, abot misfits planning to rob Mick Jagger's apartment, with Mick himself making a cameo appearance)

9:30 — "Help Me Help You" (comedy about people in group therapy, with Ted Danson as their eccentric therapist)

10 — "Boston Legal"'

Wednesday

8 p.m. — "Dancing With the Stars/George Lopez"

8:30 — "Dancing With the Stars" (continued)/"According to Jim"

9 — "Lost"

10 — "The Nine" (drama, about what happens to nine people after they are all hostages in a bank robbery)

Thursday

8 — "Big Day" (comedy, where the entire season follows a couple on their wedding day)

8:30 — "Notes From the Underbelly" (comedy, about a couple expecting a baby)

9 — "Grey's Anatomy"

10 — "Six Degrees" (drama, about six New Yorkers who are affecting each other's lives, without knowing it at first)

Friday

8 — "Betty the Ugly" (one-hour comedy, inspired by a telenovela)

9 — "Men in Trees" (drama, with a relationship therapist — Anne Heche — dealing with her own relationship crisis — in Alaska)

10 — "20/20"

Saturday

8 — "ABC Saturday Night College Football" (sports)

Sunday

7 — "America's Funniest Home Videos"

8 — "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

9 — "Desperate Housewives"

10 — "Brothers & Sisters" (drama about a family, as seen through the eyes of a TV commentator played by Calista Flockhart)

When the makers of television are looking at the arc of a season, I think they should come up with the biggest, wildest idea they can for a season finale — then do it in the middle of the season. That way, if the idea is bad, we'll have a bunch of new episodes after it to remind us why we like the show — and we'll end the season on a steady note that will carry us into the next.

I thought about this a couple of times tonight, once when dealing with "How I Met Your Mother," which seems to be going in a direction at odds with where it started (Ted even more with Robin, Marshall and Lily no longer engaged) and one that leans so heavily on drama, you long even more for Barney to come in and brighten the scene.

But it was even more in my mind during three hours of "Grey's," two tonight and one last night, where the pursuit of a big finish sent the show careening into a kind of madness even more pronounced than Izzie's onscreen meltdown. Not only did we have her action with Denny last night, we had the continuation tonight, which by all rights should have ended with Izzie, George, Cristina and Meredith booted out of the hospital entirely, until their bosses and the hospital lawyers could sort out the liability; and we shouldn't even have gotten to that point, because one of the other three should have reported Izzie's folly the moment they discovered it.

Also, I hated seeing Meredith and McDreamy back together, even if it was just for some slap and tickle, to set up that whom-will-she-choose ending. But that's me.

Getting back to the larger point, I stopped believing in the show. I know it's a fantasy in a lot of ways — think of some of the turns in the hospital-bomb story — but I have to believe the characters are acting in a plausible manner, as their characters I defined, that I won't look at it and think, oh, they would never do that. And these last three hours have been laced with they-wouldn't-do-that. I hope over the summer, someone takes a close look at the show and the characters and reconsiders the most recent path. It's fixable.

On the plus side, James Pickens, Jr., certainly had some good business tonight, and he took full advantage of the opportunity. Flawed as the Chief is, he is still one of the stabilizing forces in the hospital (sometimes the only one), and was really the guy to watch during the interrogation scenes. He says nothing — but in doing so talks very loud.

No, not the orange cones on the highway, although those are sprouting, too. We're talking once again about the cone of silence, custom-designed for individual viewing needs.

Because we're near the end of a television season — when shows ramp up their storylines to keep you around during May sweeps, try to come up with good series finales and hit you with season-ending cliffhangers to bring you back in the fall — viewers are more intensely involved in shows than they are in, say, a regular week in October. Almost everyone is watching something, and wants to talk about it. (Well, I have one co-worker who says she doesn't watch — but she had a question from her sister, who does.)

At the same time, though, a single night can include a bunch of can't miss shows. Look at Sunday — "Survivor," "West Wing," "Sopranos," "Grey's Anatomy" — and that was just my viewing list. Yours may also have included, say, "Desperate Housewives." And can't-miss isn't entirely accurate; people still have lives that take them away from the TV, and make them turn on their video recorder.

Since shows can't be gotten too right away, people have to establish cones of silence when they go to work, where other people HAVE seen the show in question, and want to talk. Today, at my office, the cones had spread like U.S. marshals going after Johnny Sack's assets.

I watched "Survivor" in real time, and "Sopranos" and "West Wing" this morning, but was still in the cone about "Grey's." But when I was talking "Sopranos" with one friend, another one said she was in the "Sopranos" cone. (She was happy, though, to talk "Survivor."_ But as we were stopping the chat about "Sopranos," another co-worker came up and asked me about "Grey's."

Puncturing the cone, of course, though not wrecking it. And I have to watch "Grey's" today anyway, so I won't have to delay tonight's telecast, and so be in the cone for another day.

We did manage cone-free talk about "The Office," but it had aired last week. So here's the question (which, I admit, may end up as part of a Beacon Journal column): How do you protect YOUR cone of silence at work?

I'm open to suggestions. Please use the "comments" feature to provide them.

NBC has announced its new lineup. Here's the list.

MONDAY
8-9 p.m.    "Deal or No Deal"      
9-10 p.m.    "HEROES"
10-11 p.m.    "Medium"

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m.    "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS"
9-10 p.m.    "KIDNAPPED"
10-11 p.m.    "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"   

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m.    "The Biggest Loser"
9-9:30 p.m.    "20 GOOD YEARS"
9:30-10 p.m.     "30 ROCK"   
10-11 p.m.    "Law & Order"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m.    "My Name Is Earl" (new time)   
8:30-9 p.m.    "The Office" (new time)
9-10 p.m.    "STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP"
10-11 p.m.    "ER"/("THE BLACK DONNELLYS" in January 2007)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m.    "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m.    "Las Vegas"   
10-11 p.m.    "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (new day and time)

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m.    "Dateline Saturday"
9-11 p.m.    Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m.    "FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA"   
8-11 p.m.    "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

(Another note from me: "Crossing Jordan" and "Scrubs" will be back at some point during the season; "The Apprentice" will be back in January '07, after football, along with the new reality series, "America's Got Talent.") "E-Ring," for those of you who keep asking, is officially kaput, although NBC will burn off some unaired episodes this summer.

And now back to NBC:

2006-07 NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
New Dramas

"STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP" — Emmy Award-winning executive producer-writer Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing") and Emmy Award-winning executive producer-director Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing") return to television with this crackling take on the drama behind the humor of producing a popular, late-night comedy sketch show, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."  Sorkin lays bare the backstage politics, romances and delicate balance between creative talent, on-air personalities and network executives in an instant text-messaging world.  Prominent are Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet, "Syriana"), a savvy new network entertainment chief who inherits a massive public relations disaster on the series — even before she starts her first day — and Matt Albie (Matthew Perry, "Friends") and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford, "The West Wing"), a brilliant creative team that she wants to resurrect the program.  Also playing crucial roles are the sketch comedy series stars Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson, "Down with Love"), Simon Stiles (D.L. Hughley, "The Hughleys") and Tom Jeter (Nathan Corddry, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"), their normally cool-headed director, Cal Shanley (Timothy Busfield, "thirtysomething") as well as supreme network honcho Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber, "Wings").  Evan Handler ("Sex and the City") and Carlos Jacott ("Being John Malkovich") also star.  The series is a production of Warner Bros. Television.

"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS" - Expanding on the themes from the hit feature film "Friday Night Lights," this series centers on the small rural town of Dillon, Texas, where the vaunted 2006 state football championship rings are held in the highest regard.  The town's promising high school team, its star quarterback, and newly appointed head coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, "Grey's Anatomy," "King Kong") feel the mounting pressure of the town's pride and honor riding on their shoulders as a new season kicks off.  The fresh cast also includes: Scott Porter ("All My Children") as team captain and first-string quarterback Jason Street; Gaius Charles ("The Book of Daniel") as feared running back Brian "Smash" Williams; Taylor Kitsch ("Kyle XY") as running back Tim Riggins; Connie Britton ("The Brothers McMullen," "24") as Taylor's long-suffering wife, Tami; Zach Gilford ("The Last Winter") as third-string quarterback Matt Saracen, and Minka Kelly ("What I Like About You") as Lyla Garrity, Panther cheerleader and Street's girlfriend.  Also starring are Aimee Teegarden ("Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide") as Julie Taylor and Adrienne Palicki ("South Beach") as Tyra Collette.  The pilot is executive-produced by Brian Grazer ("Fun with Dick and Jane," "Cinderella Man," "A Beautiful Mind"), David Nevins ("Arrested Development"), Peter Berg (the film "Friday Night Lights," "The Run Down") — who also wrote and the directed the pilot — and Jason Katims ("Roswell").  "Friday Night Lights" is produced in association with Imagine Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Studio, and Film 44.

"HEROES" — The epic drama "Heroes" chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.  As a total eclipse casts it shadow across the globe, viewers follow a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, "Blind Guy Driving") in India whose father's disappearance leads him to uncover a secret theory — there are people with super powers living among us.  A young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, "The Bedford Diaries") tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, "Judging Amy") that he can fly.  A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, "Ice Princess") learns that she is totally indestructible.  A Las Vegas stripper (Ali Larter, "Final Destination"), struggling to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, "My Wife & Kids"), uncovers that her mirror image has a secret.  A prison inmate (Leonard Roberts, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") mysteriously finds himself waking up outside of his cell.  A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, "Empire"), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and the relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, "Third Watch"), can paint the future.  A down-on-his-luck beat cop (Greg Grunberg, "Alias") can hear people's thoughts, including the secrets of a captured terrorist.  In Japan, a young man (Masi Oka, "Scrubs") develops a way to stop time through sheer will power.  Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world. "Heroes" is executive produced by creator/writer Tim Kring ("Crossing Jordan), Dennis Hammer ("Crossing Jordan") and David Semel ("House"), who also directed the pilot.  The drama is from NBC Universal Television Studio. 

"KIDNAPPED" — "Kidnapped" is a high-stakes, serialized thriller in which the teenaged son of a wealthy Upper East Side family is kidnapped and everyone is a suspect.  The series focuses on the elaborate, triangulated game between the kidnappers, law enforcement, FBI, and the private negotiating team of the "perhaps" less-than-picture-perfect family.  The ensemble cast includes Jeremy Sisto ("Six Feet Under"), Delroy Lindo ("The Core"), Emmy winner Dana Delany ("China Beach"), Timothy Hutton ("Kinsey"), Mykelti Williamson ("Boomtown"), Linus Roache ("Batman Begins"), Carmen Ejogo ("Lackawanna Blues"), Will Denton ("Palindromes") and Boris McGiver ("The Pink Panther").  "Kidnapped" is produced by Sony Pictures Television and 25C Productions.  David Greenwalt ("Angel"), Jason Smilovic ("Karen Sisco"), Michael Dinner ("Invasion"), Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly are executive producers; Dinner is the director and Smilovic is the writer.

Additional Dramas

"THE BLACK DONNELLYS" — Academy Award winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco ("Crash") are the creators of "The Black Donnellys," a gritty new crime drama series loosely based on Moresco's background.  The series follows the exploits of four young, working-class Irish brothers and their involvement in organized crime in New York City.  Despite their rough surroundings, the Donnelly brothers basically remain "good kids" — who will do anything to protect each other against all odds. The ensemble cast includes Jonathan Tucker ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Billy Lush ("Huff"), Thomas Guiry ("Mystic River"), Michael Stahl-David ("Uncle Nino"), Keith Nobbs ("25th Hour"), Olivia Wilde ("The O.C.") and Kirk Acevedo ("Oz").   Haggis, who directed the pilot, and Moresco are the creators, executive producers and co-writers.  The series is from NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Blackfriars Bridge Productions.

"RAINES" — Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Graham Yost ("Band of Brothers," "Boomtown"), acclaimed director-writer-producer Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption," "Green Mile") and star Jeff Goldblum ("The Lost World: Jurassic Park") combine creative forces in this inventive police drama, which blends traditional noir storytelling with humor and intrigue.  Eccentric LAPD detective Michael Raines' unique ability to have detailed conversations with deceased crime victims allows him to re-trace their lives leading up to their murder and helps him to solve their cases.  Unfortunately, it also causes increasing friction with his boss, Captain Daniel Lewis (Matt Craven, "From the Earth to the Moon"), fellow officers Remy Boyer (Dov Davidoff, "Third Watch") and Sally Lance (Linda Park, "Star Trek: Enterprise"), as well as civilian employee Carolyn (Nicole Sullivan, "MADtv").  Aided by Charlie (Luis Guzman, "Boogie Nights"), his ex-LAPD partner and conscience, Raines struggles to accept his peculiar gift — or burden — as it often forces him at times to confront his own past and internal demons.  "Raines" is from NBC Universal Television Studio.

New Comedies

"20 GOOD YEARS" — This high-energy comedy follows two New Yorkers who have finally realized that life doesn't last forever.  Mismatched buddies John Mason (Emmy Award winner John Lithgow, "3rd Rock from the Sun"), an impulsive, thrice-divorced surgeon who has been forced into retirement — and Jeffrey Pyne (Jeffrey Tambor, "Arrested Development"), a widower judge who agonizes over every situation — are polar opposites in every way.  The one thing the duo can agree on is that they only have about 20 good years left and both men vow to live each day as if it were their last — with no regrets.  "20 Good Years" also stars Heather Burns ("Bewitched") as John's pregnant daughter Stella, and Jake Sandvig ("The Story of Us") as Hugh, Jeffrey's un-motivated son.  The executive producers are Tom Werner ("Roseanne"), Eric Gold (the upcoming "Outsourced") Jimmy Miller ("Kicking & Screaming") and Marsh McCall ("Modern Men").  Marsh McCall and Michael Leeson ("The Cosby Show") are the writers; Terry Hughes ("Friends") directed the pilot.  "20 Good Years" is produced by Warner Bros.Television.

"30 ROCK" — Emmy Award winner Tina Fey (NBC's "Saturday Night Live," "Mean Girls") writes, executive-produces and stars in this workplace comedy that takes viewers behind the scenes of a frenetic television variety show.  Single Liz Lemon (Fey) is living every comedy writer's dream.  She's head writer on a demanding, live TV program in New York City whose life is jolted when a brash new network president (Alec Baldwin, "The Aviator," "The Cooler") interferes with her show and bullies Liz into convincing Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan, "Saturday Night Live," "The Longest Yard"), a wild and unpredictable movie star, to join the cast.  Now Liz must manage the unmanageable so that the show — and her dream — can go on.  Also starring are Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live") as Jenne DeCarlo, Scott Adsit ("Kicking and Screaming") as Pete Hornberger and Jack MacBrayer ("Arrested Development") as Kenneth.  "30 Rock" is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, Fey, JoAnn Alfano, Marci Klein and David Miner, and is produced by Broadway Video Television and NBC Universal Television Studio.

Additional Comedies

"ANDY BARKER, P.I." — Andy Richter ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien") re-teams with co-writer and executive producer Conan O'Brien in this comedy as he portrays Andy Barker, an earnest, hard-working CPA who has succeeded at everything — that is until his new accounting business fails to take off.  But when he's mistaken for Lew Staziak (Harve Presnell, "Fargo") — the retired private detective who used to occupy his office — Andy embraces the twist of fate and takes the case. Andy's incessantly supportive wife Jen (Amy Farrington, "The New Adventures of Old Christine") isn't sold on this risky new venture, that is, until she notices a sudden boost in Andy's self-confidence. Andy's neighboring merchants — Simon (Tony Hale, "Arrested Development"), Wally (Marshall Manesh, "Will & Grace") and Jessica (Ion Overman, "The L Word") join him in the dicey investigation.  Whether chiding thugs for "renting instead of buying" or being pursued by Sri Lankan gangsters, Andy will prove to be a consummate problem-solver.  This comedy series is written by "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" host O'Brien and former head writer Jonathan Groff ("Ed"), who executive-produce the series with "Late Night" executive producer Jeff Ross and David Kissinger. "Andy Barker, P.I." is from NBC Universal Television Studio and Conaco.  The pilot was directed by Jason Ensler ("The West Wing").

"THE SINGLES TABLE" - In this comedy, a group of witty and single strangers — Ivan (John Cho, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle"), Eli (Conor Dubin, "Close to Home"), Adam (Jarrad Paul, "The Shaggy Dog") and Stephanie (Rhea Seehorn, "Modern Men") - meet at a wedding and suddenly realize they have one thing in common, they are each a party of one stuck at a remote singles table.  Because of their solo status and tenuous relationships with the bride and groom, they are all destined for Table 18, a far corner of the wedding reception.  But through the course of the party, each emotionally vulnerable person questions his or her life's issues and vows to make it better.  For richer or poorer, these five kindred spirits will grow to become good friends — and, in some cases, they may become more than that.  Written by Bill Martin ("Grounded for Life," "3rd Rock from the Sun") and Mike Schiff ("Grounded for Life," "3rd Rock from the Sun"), "The Singles Table" is from 20th Century Fox Television.  Adam Bernstein ("The Bedford Diaries," "Scrubs") is the director.

Odd to watch the final two on "Survivor" tonight and not see Terry there. Or, for that matter, Cirie, who proved a really good tactician in the later stages of the game. But Cirie could not get past that fire-making tie-breaker with Danielle. Then Danielle won immunity — after outbalancing Terry and giving Aras an ambiguous nod that he interpreted as a pact and so threw the immunity challenge , and then breaking her old pact with Terry to take Aras to the final two. Where she lost the jury vote to Aras.

After a formidable run in the immunity challenges, Terry proved to be like an NFL team that goes 15-1 in the regular season and gets bounced in the playoffs. Last week, he lost reward and immunity to Aras, losing control of the game in the process. (Indeed, the hidden immunity idol turned out to be a nice addition to the game for suspense purposes, and something that was never put to use.)

This week, he won reward but lost immunity again. At least his decision last week not to give Danielle the immunity idol proved a wise one; she sold him out this week, and she would have done the same a week ago.

And when you look at the most interesting characters in this "Survivor," Danielle and Aras are not very high on the list. Terry, sure, Shane, Cirie, Bruce, Courtney — but none of them won. I postponed "The Sopranos" for this?

I should be watching "10.5: Apocalypse," since I have to write a brief column for the cover of Channels about it, but the TV sirens keep calling. I've got review copies of the season premieres of "Rescue Me" and "The Closer," for starters, and I really, really want to see them. I've been trying to sample outside my usual viewing, mainly with potential guilty pleasures like "My Super Sweet 16," "Next" and "Date My Mom." I'm going to see more of "Sweet 16" but "Next" and "Date My Mom" are interesting only as part of the dating-show genre, which to me probably peaked with "Love Connection." OK, and "Blind Date."

On top of that, the DVR has been backed up with things that I either wanted to watch or felt I should, what with the end of the season looming and the networks' fall announcements coming next week.

So last night and today I've gone through the most recent telecasts of "Alias," "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" and felt as if I had gone one-for-three. The one was "The Office," which was once again funny and squirmy, with Michael juggling two dates, and with the Jim-Pam saga reaching a big crossroads. Since this was its season finale, I'm already feeling frustrated about summer; I really want to know where this one goes next. But "The Office" is good because it doesn't just focus on Michael, or on Jim/Pam, so the finale was able to give us a really nice performance by Melora Hardin (as Michael's sad boss/sometime love interest) and Kevin's band and other glimpses into the characters.

There have been weeks when, back to back, "My Name Is Earl" seemed better than "The Office." But, having gone through full seasons of each, I have to concede that "The Office" was stronger overall, and "Earl's" season finale paled next to "The Office's." "Earl" was ambitious — dealing with the first task on Earl's list, karma and the long journey of his lottery ticket. But while it was all right, it wasn't as terrific as the show could sometimes be — and not nearly as funny as "The Office." Still, I'll be tuning to "Earl" next season, at least at the beginning.

"Alias," meanwhile, is keeping me going with little things — Jennifer Garner as Anna-playing-Sydney and, this week, as Sydney-playing-Anna-playing-Sydney. And while I have repeatedly argued that no one really dies on "Alias" (and so felt smug about Vaughn's return), I think it's a safe bet that the bullet between the eyes did Anna in. Beyond that, though, I'm just watching to see how the series will end. I can't be very serious about a show that still believes that a ghost has to appear with spooky wind sounds.

I've been meaning to write something based on last week's "Saturday Night Live" (with Tom Hanks hosting) and "Grey's Anatomy." This is it:

About a week ago I wrote a column about how important writers and directors can be for actors — how, as a recent PBS documentary pointed out, John Wayne was made better by working with John Ford. In the piece, I also noted that Patrick Dempsey, for one, experienced a career revival because Shonda Rhimes has done such a great job making "Grey's."

But watching those two shows over the weekend reminded me that the collaboration cuts the other way, too. That, if you're "Grey's," you want to keep casting good actors, even in guest roles, to help sell the material — so you get someone like Frances Fisher for a relatively small part because it will make the show better. On the other hand, a not so good actor can drag you down. Dempsey did well last week, but Ellen Pompeo — who plays Meredith — did not make as much of the "You don't get to call me a whore" speech as was possible. It was especially noticeable when I watched the scene a second time; the first time, the writing carried her through.

And what does this have to do with Tom Hanks? Well, for one thing, he is a great host for "SNL" because he is fearless in what he will do, and how silly he will be. Screaming "Ma!" over and over, he forces a laugh out of you because he just won't let up — and even makes "Ma!" sound different from yell to yell. At the same time, he is so good that he makes it all the more evident how lame the writing was on "SNL" — because, with Hanks there, it should have been a lot funnier.

And I don't think I can put off "10.5" any longer.

Mark Burnett is a very successful and (generally) smart TV producer. He also has more than a little Barnum in him, and tonight's "Survivor" showed once again that he will happily play with the audience in order to keep it around a little longer.

Who's in the final three? We don't know. The tribal council vote came down to a tiebreaker between Cirie and Danielle, and the show ended before showing us who won the tiebreaker. Step right up, ladies and gentlemen — and wait around until Sunday for the big finish.

The show had its moments. Seemingly unbeatable Terry lost both reward AND immunity to Aras, and the reward win came about in large measure because Cirie was able to block Terry's progress several times on the challenge course. The immunity loss was even more key because Terry had worked out a deal with Danielle where he could give her the immunity idol if he had immunity himself — driving either Aras or Cirie out of the game.

And, for once, Terry played smart. Danielle tried to talk him into giving up the idol, since Aras/Cirie would assume he had it and vote for Danielle — who could then block them with the idol and send either Aras or Cirie home. But Terry kept the idol for himself. And I am sure that, had he given the idol to Danielle, she would have cut a deal with Aras and Cirie and taken Terry out. So not only did we see Aras at last do something he had repeatedly failed at — beat Terry — we saw Terry do something he had done terribly — figure out a strategy.

But that created the tie situation, Aras and Cirie voting for Danielle, Terry and Danielle voting for Cirie. One flaw in the show: Everyone on the island knows the game well enough that they figured the tiebreaker would be a fire-making challenge. Good time, then, to change the tiebreaker, as the show has done before. But we still had the fire challenge — ONLY WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT.

"The cone of silence has lifted!" a co-worker said to me this morning. "Cone of silence" is shorthand around here for "Don't talk to me about (a given show) because I have not seen it yet and don't want to spoil the surprise." In this case, the cone was protecting "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars." Myself, I'm still in the cone for "Alias," since I have not yet gotten to last night's episode. Given the glut of serialized dramas out there right now (not to mention some serialized comedies), people around here spend a fair amount of time in a cone.

But today, I was thinking that not everyone who drops by here knows where "the cone of silence" comes from. For instance, according to the Internet Movie Database, there's an old movie called "Cone of Silence" — but it has nothing to do with the topic here. The term here is taken from the old "Get Smart" sitcom, where inept spy Maxwell Smart would insist on using it for very private conversations — even though it didn't work. (You can find a good, detailed description of "Get Smart" and the cone in this entry on research site TV Acres.)

I like the term for several reasons: It describes what I'm trying to achieve, it's a reference to a TV show and — just like on "Get Smart" — it doesn't always work in life. Try going through a day not talking about a show that almost everyone around you has seen. Of course, given my big mouth and loud voice, I'm also one of the worst cone-breakers around. A little while ago, I spilled a plot element from "The Amazing Race" to another co-worker — even though she was in the cone.

Well, here's the theme for next week's "American Idol," from Fox: "Each contestant will sing three songs – one selected by famed producer Clive Davis, one by the IDOL judges and one of his or her own choosing." The announcement, by the way, did not include vote totals for this week's show, usually a sign that the vote was lower than anticipated.

Had a lot of conversations at work today about "Idol" and, to a lesser degree, "Lost." I still don't have a definite explanation for Chris's abrupt departure, and I'd like one myself. With him gone, I'm looking at the remaining three and thinking, "OK, someone will win. So be it. I don't have a dog in this fight. Could we cut immediately to the final results?" Having once entertained the fantasy of a Mandisa-Chris final, I lost some of my excitement about the show when Mandisa was booted, and the rest with Chris's departure. I'll keep watching, of course, but now it will mainly be because this is my job — and I'll greet any conclusion with a shrug.

Still, why did Chris go? Theories, theories: He wasn't that good Tuesday, at a point where every performance can make a difference. He had alienated his hard-rock constituency when he tried to show his mellow side, and his move back to rock a week ago wasn't continued this week. He was a one-trick pony (a complaint I heard about him from a lot of people as the show went along) and, even if the trick was good, people got tired of it. People figured he was a lock and didn't vote for him. (As I've said, it looks as if the vote totals this week were lower than expected.) He was scary (a point Daniel Fienberg has made often and humorously). He didn't have a strong personality niche when everyone else remaining did. Taylor has settled in as the Golden Oldie (and has in the process grabbed a lot of older viewers, I'd guess), Elliott is the official Lovable Underdog and Katharine is the Hot Chick. Yes, Chris was the Rock Guy, but that's a music niche, and at this point personality rules.

Not sure I buy into all of those, or into the idea that the show wanted him gone because he was too narrow a singer to sell lots of CDs, he was too independent, whatever. I think that as much as "Idol" can manipulate aspects of the show, it comes down to voters who make up their own minds. And those minds were not on Chris this week.

As for "Lost," there's a piece worth looking at on www.tvguide.com where, among other things, the show promises that even though Libby is dead, we haven't seen the last of her. She will appear in flashbacks next season, to explain some of the mysteries involving her place in the "Lost" world.

Well, we're back to that faith vs. empiricism argument on "Lost." In this case, do we accept this simply as a Dharma psych experiment or is something more meaningful going on? Or, is this a psych experiment that went wrong and so is creating a place for something meaningful to happen? Are we heading toward a point where someone's redemptive act is not followed by death?

Overall, I wasn't as engaged as I hoped. As touching as the episode was at the end, with Hurley's goodbye to Libby, up to that point it was slow, once again dragging out some revelations that might have been done more efficiently. I do hope that it won't take long for Jack and the others to wonder why Libby made Michael's name the last word she spoke.

As for "Amazing Race," I'm going to enjoy the final three now that MoJo is (are?) out of the picture. They had become the most annoying and hostile of the remaining teams, and we now end with three who have not only played well but have enjoyed both the game and the travel — making for a happy ending regardless of who wins.