This radio redhead has been anxiously awaiting the return of scripted television ever since word that the writer's strike was ending made its way to me. No offense to all of you reality TV lovers out there, but its really not my thing. Now I'm not above reading episode recaps of American Idol to get an edge on the office Idol pool, but I find that I already live in reality, why do I have to watch someone else's? So the past few weeks have been pretty exciting for me as more and more scripted shows are returning with all new episodes. I've caught up on my back log of episodes of The Reaper (if the CW cancels this show, I will make good on my threat from last year when they canceled Veronica Mars and boycott that sham of a network!) and am fully pumped for it to come back on April 23. I'm praying that My Name Is Earl will stop being as lame as it was the first part of the season and rise above the fact that Paris Hilton is guest starring on tomorrow's return episode. And I can't wait to hang out on my couch next Thursday night for the return of must see TV. I've missed the gang at The Office and can't wait to see what's up with Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, not to mention those crazy guys on Scrub's. Still the return of the TV season has still left some holes in my heart. Some shows never made it past the writer's strike forced hiatus and some won't be returning until next fall (I'll miss you Heroes, Chuck and Pushing Daisies but you'll still have a place on my DVR next fall). With all of this schedule shifting and differing return dates, some shows are going to take a major ratings hit, so I'll be doing my part to make sure I'm watching the shows I love.
While I'm super excited about my favorite TV shows returning, I'm a little distressed by the stories that have made their way to the internet today about NBC revealing their entire 2008-2009 schedule today! Traditionally, the networks don't reveal they're fall schedules until May at the upfronts, where they try to get advertisers excited about their new line up. Since NBC is the lowest rated network this year, they would have been forced to go first anyway, so I guess they just decided to bite the bullet and reveal they're new schedule a month early. Here's what they revealed earlier today: NBC's complete prime-time schedule for fall 2008:MONDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Chuck
- 9-10 p.m. Heroes
- 10-11 p.m. My Own Worst Enemy
TUESDAY
- 8-9:30 p.m. The Biggest Loser: Families
- 9:30-10 p.m. Kath & Kim
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit
WEDNESDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Knight Rider
- 9-10 p.m. Deal or No Deal
- 10-11 p.m. Lipstick Jungle
THURSDAY
- 8-8:30 p.m. My Name Is Earl
- 8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
- 9-9:30 p.m. The Office
- 9:30-10 p.m. The Office/SNL Thursday Night Live
- 10-11 p.m. ER
FRIDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Crusoe
- 9-10 p.m. Deal or No Deal
- 10-11 p.m. Life
SATURDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Dateline NBC
- 9-10 p.m. Knight Rider
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit
SUNDAY
- 7-8:20 p.m. Football Night in America
- 8:20-11 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC's prime-time schedule for winter 2009:
MONDAY
- 8- 9 p.m. Chuck
- 9-10 p.m. Heroes
- 10-11 p.m. The Philanthropist
TUESDAY
- 8- 9:30 p.m. The Biggest Loser: Couples
- 9:30-10 p.m. Kath & Kim
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
WEDNESDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Knight Rider
- 9-10 p.m. Deal or No Deal
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order
THURSDAY
- 8-8:30 p.m. My Name Is Earl
- 8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
- 9- 9:30 p.m. The Office
- 9:30-10 p.m. The Office Spinoff
- 10-11 p.m. ER/The Celebrity Apprentice
FRIDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Deal or No Deal
- 9-10 p.m. Friday Night Lights
- 10-11 p.m. Life
SATURDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Dateline NBC
- 9-10 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Encore)
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order (Encore)
SUNDAY
- 7-8 p.m. Specials/Dateline NBC
- 8-9 p.m. Specials/Merlin
- 9-10 p.m. Specials/Medium
- 10-11 p.m. Specials/Kings
NBC's prime-time schedule for summer 2009:
MONDAY
- 8-9 p.m. American Gladiators
- 9-10 p.m. America's Toughest Jobs
- 10-11 p.m. Dateline NBC
TUESDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Most Outrageous Moments
- 9-10 p.m. America's Got Talent
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Encore)
WEDNESDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Shark Taggers
- 9-10 p.m. America's Got Talent (Results Show)
- 10-11 p.m. Law & Order (Encore)
THURSDAY
- 8-8:30 p.m. The Office
- 8:30- 9 p.m. The Office Spinoff
- 9-10 p.m. Last Comic Standing
- 10-11 p.m. The Listener
FRIDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Chopping Block
- 9-11 p.m. Dateline NBC
SATURDAY
- 8-9 p.m. Drama Encores
- 9-10 p.m. Drama Encores
- 10-11 p.m. Drama Encores
SUNDAY
- 7-8 p.m. Dateline NBC
- 8-9 p.m. Monk
- 9-10 p.m. Nashville Star
- 10-11 p.m. Kings (Encore)
At the moment, I'm most concerned about the lack of Scrub's on the schedule, although many reports claim that it will be moving to ABC next season, which is fine with me as long as its still on the air. As for the rest of it, I think having a spin off of The Office is a big mistake. Seriously, didn't they learn with Joey? Comedy spin offs are hard to do, especially if the original show is still on the air. And, according to E Online's Watch with Kristin, there's no plot for the show! Why on Earth would a network approve a spin off with no real plot or even characters! Add to that the fact that they haven't even seen half of their new scripted shows yet! That's right, no pilots, just some casting and scripts. Now some of them will probably be pretty awesome (Christian Slater as a regular guy/spy? Be still my Pump Up The Volume loving heart! Molly Shannon and Selma Blair remaking Kath and Kim, hell yeah!) but a new Knight Rider? Do we really need to go down that road again? You saw what happened to The Bionic Woman. Seriously. I'll try to keep an open mind about this new line up, but I don't have high hopes for this being the season that NBC gets out of the bottom of the ratings. And if this is any indication of how the other networks are going with their fall lineups, I'm a little concerned. But for now, I'll just enjoy the present with new episodes of all of my favorite shows and hope that there's no actor's strike to mess up the fall. I think I've ranted enough. This redhead is outta here!
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