Network Report Cards '08, II: Fox

So, are you a glass-is-half-full type of TV viewer, or glass-is-half-empty?

Because, depending on which you are, will no doubt influence your view of Fox's year.

WHAT WAS GOOD: Fox brought us the top-rated show of the season ("American Idol") and the second-best rated drama ("House"). "House" delivered some of the best episodes of its run, including the Super Bowl night episode with Mira Sorvino and the devastating two-part season finale. As it has during the Mike Darnell era, Fox continues to dominate ratings-wise with reality fare such as "The Moment of Truth" and "Hell's Kitchen," not worrying about pesky things like good taste.

"Prison Break" inexplicably earned yet another season as well as a spinoff, and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" brought in decent numbers for its debut. And remember, Fox was handcuffed by not airing "24" this season because of the strike, which is usually a ratings-earner. Its Sunday animation block is solid if unspectacular.

WHAT WAS BAD: Well, see above. When "The Moment of Truth" is the 13th-best rated show of the season, you know something is wrong, at least with the American viewing public. The much-hyped "Back To You," with Emmy winners Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton, flopped. After its launch was pushed back to midseason, "New Amsterdam" was solid creatively but failed to find an audience. The usually dependable "Bones" was a bit of a mess creatively after the strike. "Canterbury's Law" came out flat and fizzled away quickly.

OVERALL: It's kind of tough to judge Fox without "24." It's a bit like watching the Braves play without Chipper Jones: They still might win, but they are playing without their heavy hitter. Fox seems more committed than ever to reality programming over dramatic programming, not a good sign for the TV audience but very good for the network's bottom line. On the creative front, I was pretty underwhelmed by most of Fox's dramatic shows, with the exceptions of "House" and "Terminator." It'll be interesting to see where Fox goes from here.

GRADE: C+. I may not like the programming, but it's hard to argue the numbers.

TOMORROW: The CW

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Well, the aforementioned "Moment of Truth" and "Hell's Kitchen" are new tonight on Fox, so I guess this is a good night if you are into the reality programming.

A much higher class of reality airs on Fox's sister network, as filmmaker Morgan Spurlock returns with "30 Days" (FX, 10 p.m.)

Which Blair Project

Almost lost in Helen Mirren's Oscar performance in "The Queen" last year was the remarkable performance by actor Michael Sheen as then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Not only bearing a striking resemblance to Blair, but Sheen also captured his voice, his mannerisms, everything.

If you liked "The Queen," then you should be in for a treat as the made-for-cable movie "The Deal" (HBO, 9 p.m.) debuts tonight.

Made in 2003 by "Queen" writer Peter Morgan and director Stephen Frears, "The Deal" is kind of an unofficial prequel to "The Queen," detailing the early political career of Blair, who has seemed to draw more attention in the U.S. than any Prime Minister since Winston Churchill, perhaps because he brings a Bill Clinton-like familiarity.

"The Deal" details the relationship between Blair and and now-current P.M. Gordon Brown (David Morrissey), who was Blair's mentor and the head of the Labour Party before Blair was elected.

And if you loved "The Queen" and like "The Deal," there is some extra good news. Morgan is supposed to write a third film for Sheen, detailing Blair's final years and his relationships with Clinton and George W. Bush.

FOX FLIPS THINGS AROUND: The writers haven't even been on strike for a week, and the Fox programming chiefs have been driven a bit crazy, changing the winter schedule around entirely.

The big news is that "24," one of Fox's top-rated dramas, has been yanked from the schedule until the strike is over, because the chiefs want to show the entire season without interruptions (as they have done every year). It's a sound strategy, since the rabid "24" fans will pretty much tune in whenever it gets shown. But it's already been a difficult year on that sound stage, given production problems centered around the California fires and Kiefer Sutherland's DUI arrest.

This leaves a big hole in the Monday schedule, and it's had a domino effect for the rest of the week.

"The Sarah Conner Chronicles" will still debut in January, like it was supposed to, but will be joined by "Prison Break" instead. "PB" was going to show a fall finale and then get yanked until April, but now will run January and February before being replaced by a reality show called "When Women Rule The World."

Fox's saviour, "American Idol," kicks off Tuesdays in mid-January, where it will be joined by "House" before "House" is replaced April 1 by "Hell's Kitchen."

More "AI" on Wednesday, followed by a new game show, "Moment of Truth," a show in which people are hooked to lie detectors that's so bad it was yanked in some South American country after it was revealed a contestant tried to bump off her mother-in-law.

Thursdays will be all reality, including "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" and "Don't Forget The Lyrics."

"Bones" and "House" will kick off an evolving Fridays, which will eventually include "New Amsterdam" and "The Return of Jezebel James." "New Amsterdam" will then give way to the Julianna Margulies vehicle, "Canterbury's Law."


Sundays, which are animated shows and therefore unaffected by the strike, will remain the same, with the exception of "American Dad," which will give way to "Unhitched" for a few weeks.

Stay tuned here for more scheduling changes.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: Ah, the crossover, that time-honored TV tradition in which characters on one show appear on another show, and vice versa. I remember growing up when "Magnum, PI" had crossovers with "Simon & Simon" and "Murder, She Wrote." Or when various "Star Trek" characters appeared on each other's series. Or the great Richard Belzer, who has portrayed Det. John Munch on "Homicide," all of the "Law & Orders" and "The X-Files."

The tradition continues tonight as the plots of "CSI" (CBS, 9 p.m.) and "Without A Trace" (CBS, 10 p.m.) are intertwined into one big mystery for both shows.

"Ugly Betty" (ABC, 8 p.m.) gets away from the Betty-Henry stuff for a bit, which is good because it has become annoying, in favor of Wilhelmina's (Vanessa Williams) wedding to Bradford (Alan Dale), which will include maid of honor Victoria Beckham. It's followed by a new "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 9 p.m.) that is scheduled to run long, so program your VCRs and DVRs accordingly. The good thing about that is that it means less of "Big Shots."

Lana gets Clark's power on "Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.) Great, just what we want to see, more Lana. It's followed by a new "Supernatural," one of the very few shows on TV right now that started off very good and has never had a dip in quality.

NBC continues its green theme this week with an all-new lineup, highlighted by a "30 Rock" (NBC, 8:30 p.m.) that includes guest stars David Schwimmer and Al Gore. It's preceded by a new "Earl" and followed by "The Office," "Scrubs" and "ER." Incidentally, I should mention that the fallout of the strike will include a shortened season of "Scrubs," including possibly not having a proper series finale.

Venting A Little Bit

This post is dedicated to the woman who called me this morning about getting Oprah tickets.

Check that. This post is dedicated to the idiotic, illiterate woman who called me AT HOME this morning about getting Oprah tickets.

Here's why I wish people who read the paper would actually take the time to READ the paper:

The Telegraph does NOT have Oprah tickets. (If we did, we'd probably scalp them.) We have no information about getting tickets. All of the tickets are GONE. So quit asking!

The little blurb we ran in the paper about me and Oprah fans asks one question: Why are you the biggest Oprah fan? That's all I want to know. There is an e-mail address provided. You only have to e-mail me once, not six times like one woman did yesterday. And no, she isn't getting tickets, either.

I said, very specifically, DO NOT CALL ME. If I don't want to speak to you at my office, in what possible Bizarro universe do you possibly think I would want to speak to you at my home?

Since apparently what I am typing must come out in Urdu on your home computers, I will type this again very slowly.

DO. NOT. CALL. ME. ABOUT. OPRAH. I. DO. NOT. HAVE. ANY. INFORMATION. ABOUT. TICKETS.

And, I have caller ID at home. So, if anyone else has the bright idea of calling me about Oprah tickets, be warned that I am not a nice person, nor particularly amiable.

MORE VENTING: Since I had to cover the election last night, I set the VCR to record two of my favorite shows, "Bones" and "House." I get home and find out I've set the wrong channel.

No biggy, I thought. I'll just go over to Fox.com and watch the episodes online.

So, I click on "House," and the little screen tells me that Tuesday's episode won't be posted FOR EIGHT DAYS. Are you frakkin' kidding me? I have to wait until next week's episode has aired before I get a shot at watching this week's?

Every other network, the latest installment of every series is usually posted within 24 hours of the initial airing. Apparently, that's not the deal with Fox.

Bloody brilliant.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: OK, so I'm in a bit of a bad mood, and it's not helped by the fact that two of my favorite new shows, "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money," have been yanked for the CMA Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.) The 800 music award shows that seem to air every year are far and away some of the most annoying things on TV.

At least, CBS is all new with "Kid Nation," "Criminal Minds" and "CSI:NY." Sadly, I watch none of those shows, so I really don't care.

Enjoy Fox sitcoms "Back To You" and "Til Death" while you can. If my math is correct, these should be the last first-run episodes while the WGA strike is going on. Filming on both shows stopped this week, and because sitcoms tape within a week of their airing, those shows will run out of new episodes either this week or next. But hey, if you miss them tonight, you can always catch them eight days later online. They are followed by "Kitchen Nightmares" (Fox, 9 p.m.)

Finally, "Bionic Woman" (NBC, 9 p.m.) returns after a week off, as "Phenomenon" is limiting itself to an hour these days. "Life" (NBC, 10 p.m.) is also new.