Lost Opportunities

Sometimes, you really wonder about who they stick in charge of networks.

Tonight is the fifth episode of "Lost" (ABC, 9 p.m.) Better enjoy it now, because there is only one more after this week's installment before ABC turns the timeslot over to the new Taye Diggs series, "Daybreak," beginning Nov. 15.

One of the things that so pissed off viewers last year was lots of reruns placed between new episodes of "Lost." Yet what ABC is doing is even worse, since the airwaves will be "Lost"-free until mid-February.

ABC is banking an awful lot on an untested series while shelving one of its top three shows ratings-wise (along with "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives"). And with "Grey's" suffering from off-the-set rumors and controversy, and "DH" suffering from a creative void the past two years, ABC really seems to be a house of cards these days, especially with just one real breakout new hit for the season in "Ugly Betty."

I understand why you want to give "Daybreak" a good shot at making it; nothing wrong with that. But don't do it at the expense of your best show. Give "Daybreak" until the end of December in the timeslot, the bring "Lost" back in January.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: The good news over at NBC is not only is "Heroes" continuing to improve on a weekly basis, it also gave "Friday Night Lights" a bump of about 2 million viewers when "Nights" moved into the Monday at 10 p.m. timeslot.

The bad news is that "Nights" outperformed "Studio 60" in the same timeslot. NBC said it is supposedly sticking with "Studio 60," but this is one more bad break for what has been a struggling show since its debut.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BET: Like the rest of Fox's shows, "Bones" (Fox, 8 p.m.) is returning with new episodes now that the World Series is over. I've found "Bones" to be pretty uneven this season; the writers don't seem to know how to balance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) with new cast member Tamara Taylor as Brennan's new boss. I noted this in an earlier blog posting, but little has seemed to change since the season debut. Maybe they've worked out the kinks in the break.