'Horrible' Is Terrific

When "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon writes out his grocery list, it's news, at least for me.

So when I hear that Whedon created a one-hour musical online called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog," you know I'm going to be logging in.

The problem is, so is the rest of the planet. So many people logged in to the DrHorrible.com Web site Tuesday night when it debuted that the server crashed, making it difficult to see what the fuss was about.

Eventually, though, I did, and it's brilliant. Whedon (along with his brothers) creates a love story revolved around the not-very-evil Dr. Horrible (Neal Patrick Harris), who longs to join the Evil Society of Evil and win the heart of the pretty redhead (Felicia Day, one of the slayers on "Buffy") who does laundry at the same laundrymat he does. Unfortunately, he's thwarted time and again by the city's big jerk of a superhero, Capt. Hammer (Nathan Fillion).

Whedon, who created one of the most memorable hours of TV ever with the "Buffy" musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling" shines again mixing comedy and music, and has a cast worthy of his efforts. Harris is pitch perfect as lovelorn title villain, and Fillion relishes his role as the pompous superhero. Day has a breakout role as the love interest.

"Dr. Horrible" is being shown in three, 15-minute parts. Part 2 airs Thursday and Part 3 debuts Saturday. The special, which was created during the strike and financed entirely out of Whedon's and his partners' pockets, will be free to watch this week. Afterwards, it will cost money to download it from platforms like iTunes, but it's definitely worth $1.99 if you miss it this week.

AROUND THE DIAL: William L. Petersen announced he will be leaving "CSI" — sort of. According to several sources, Petersen will depart midway through the season as a regular, but return to the show for guest spots. He will also remain on as a producer for the series. ...

In other casting news, Amy Poehler of "Saturday Night Live" will be the new lead in "The Office" spinoff for NBC this fall. ... FX announced a couple of big guest star roles for its series. Michael J. Fox will guest star on "Rescue Me" in 2009 as Janet's (Andrea Roth) new boyfriend. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, will use a wheelchair on the show, which should be a great touch for the politically incorrect Tommy (Denis Leary). Meanwhile, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden has signed on for "Damages" as an attorney who takes on Patti (Glenn Close). ...

The Home Run Derby on Monday set a record for such events with a 6.4 rating, meaning 6.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Josh Hamilton's sizzling performance and Justin Morneau's victory. Last year's Derby clocked in with a 5.1 rating. This Derby was the highest-rated non-NFL related programming on ESPN since the Miami-Florida State football game in 2006. ...

Stratford alum Jon Allen, a pianist who has performed with the likes of Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder, will appear on "The Today Show" Thursday morning.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: With so-called reality shows dominating the airwaves tonight ("Big Brother," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Baby Borrowers" and "Celebrity Circus"), my advice is to check out "Dr. Horrible."

The one reality show worth noting is the season premiere of "Project Runway" (Bravo, 9 p.m.), making its last appearance on the network before moving to Lifetime next year.

Finally, as a wrap-up for All-Star weekend, ESPN is running a special on the history of Yankee Stadium at 6 p.m. as well as the Triple-A All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Check Out These Webisodes

It's become chic for TV to start airing mini-episodes of different dramas and sitcoms specifically for the Internet.

Called "webisodes," they usually feature subplots involving some familiar characters, but aren't necessary to catch to enjoy the main series.

"The Office" will launch its first webisode beginning tomorrow at 3 p.m. EST at NBC.com. The webisodes feature regular supporting characters Kevin, Oscar, Stanley and Darryl and center on Kevin's attempts to secure a bank loan to pay off his gambling debts.

Joining "The Office" is "Heroes," which launches its first webisode Monday. Unlike "The Office," "Heroes" is using the webisodes to introduce new characters, but they play like extended commercials for season previews. The first webisode introduces a mailman with a sonic scream as his power.

AFTRA DEAL: The second-largest actors union, AFTRA, voted to ratify a new deal with the studios this week, which likely undermines the position of SAG, the larger of the two guilds which was talking about a strike. With four labor deals now in place, SAG will be hard pressed to commit to a work stoppage.

CASTING UPDATES: Kevin McKidd, late of "Journeyman" and "Rome," is reportedly Sandra Oh's new love interest on "Grey's Anatomy."

Meanwhile, two "Friday Night Lights" regulars, Gaius Charles and Scott Porter (Smash and Jason, respectively) have been dropped down to recurring status. The move makes sense from a dramatic standpoint, since both characters have graduated high school and Smash is now in college. The reduced storylines will allow the writers to narrow their focus a little bit, which should be a good thing.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: Tracy Morgan ("30 Rock") hosts the new season of "Scare Tactics" (Sci Fi, 10 p.m.). It follows a new episode of "Ghost Hunters International."

Other than that, the pickings are slim unless you like "So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox, 8 p.m.)

Why? Why? Why?

In the early 1990s, Granada TV in the UK came up with "Cracker." Written by Jimmy McGovern and starring Robbie Coltrane ("Harry Potter") as Fitz, a brilliant police psychologist whose own personal life is a mess, it was one of the most ingenious TV series ever devised.

ABC ran a very poor copy of it in the late '90s, starring the late Robert Pastorelli ("Murphy Brown") as Fitz. Comparing the US version to the UK version is a bit like comparing dinner theatre to Broadway. Needless to say, fans of the original series tuned out, and no one else ever tuned in.

Not taking the hint that once you've achieved perfection, you can't really copy it, Granada has sold the "Cracker" rights to TNT, which is developing a new version of the show, probably to make it a companion series to "The Closer," which in itself is a pale imitation of the UK's much-superior "Prime Suspect."

What the network executives don't get is that Fitz was as much Coltrane's creation as it was McGovern's, and you can't just recast such an indelible role. It'd be like trying to do a version of "The Sopranos" in the UK with someone other than James Gandolfini calling himself "Tony Soprano." Fans of the original just wouldn't buy it, no matter who was cast.

It's not the first sign that Hollywood is running out of good TV ideas. ABC has a new version of "Cupid" in the works, even though the original ran on the same network for one season in the '90s. The original "Cupid" was one of the cleverest concepts ever done on TV, starring a young Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall in the lead roles. Even though creator Rob Thomas ("Veronica Mars") is helming the remake, he'll be hard-pressed to recreate the chemistry of the original.

For every show like "The Office" that makes a successful transition across the pond, you get a lot more like "Coupling" that don't. And of you are doing a remake of an older TV series, then why not be like "Battlestar Galactica," where at least the producers put an entirely new spin on the original story, surpassing the original.

And if American TV producers love British TV so much, then why not just buy the originals? Shows like "Hustle," "MI-5" and "Doctor Who" have proven to be very successful imports when shown on American cable, both critically and commercially.

While I'm glad Hollywood recognizes how great the original "Cracker" was (one of my Top 10 best ever series), they should realize you can't make lightning strike twice in the same place.

CASTING NEWS: OK, the rant is over. Speaking of "The Office," Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan is reprising her role as Dunder Mifflin's new HR manager after a terrific guest star appearance in last season's finale. Ryan is signed on for at least five episodes (and hopefully more). She had great chemistry with Steve Carell as a possible love interest, and her character's scenes with Kevin (the result of a practical joke by the staff) was perhaps the single-most clever bit by any sitcom this past season.

'MAD' CONTEST: With the release of Season 1 of "Mad Men" on DVD this week, AMC is holding a contest that allows people to film themselves performing a scene from the series, then uploading it to the channel's Web site. The winner will get a free trip to L.A. to appear in a walk-on role in the series. For details, visit: http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2008/06/mad-men-contest-early-submissions.php.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: You know, I checked out ABC's summer entries "Wipeout" and "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" during the points where Georgia was choking away the College World Series last week, and they weren't half-bad. Are either great TV? No. But are they amusing enough to whittle away the summer? Very much so. They kick off at 8 p.m.

Less amusing is Fox's reality entries "The Moment of Truth" and "Hell's Kitchen," also beginning at 8 p.m.

A new family-oriented series called "Secret Life of an American Teenager" (ABC Family, 8 p.m.) debuts tonight, starring Molly Ringwald and Ernie Hudson. It centers around a teen pregnancy. The reviews have been uneven, so I don't think we're going to be seeing another "Juno" here.

Finale Thursday

OK,so ABC isn't wrapping up tonight, but a bunch of other shows are.

The CW airs the season finales of "Smallville" and "Supernatural" beginning at 8 p.m. A bit of good news on the "Smallville" front - Allison Mack will be returning next season as Chloe. I'm assuming Jensen Ackles will also be back as Dean Winchester even though his soul is ticketed to go to Hell tonight.

Earl has to choose between continuing his list of good karma and Alyssa Milano on the hour-long finale of "My Name Is Earl." Tough choice. I'm still thinking...

It's followed by the hour-long finale of "The Office" (NBC, 9 p.m.) which promises a few shockers as well as the departure of Toby in favor of Oscar nominee Amy Ryan as the new HR person.

More isn't necessarily merrier, though. The supersized versions of the NBC sitcoms that ran this year haven't been among the best of either series by any means.

Speaking of NBC follies, check out this interview with "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence, courtesty of TVGuide: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Lawrence/800039701

No wonder NBC is a fourth-place network these days. Meanwhile, Steve Buscemi guest stars on the season finale of "ER" at 10 p.m.

CBS wraps up "CSI" (CBS, 9 p.m.) by paving the way for the departure of legally-challenged Gary Dourdan, whose character is legally challenged as well. It's followed by the season finale of "Without a Trace."

Speaking of weird programming, ABC isn't wrapping up tonight, but rather setting up its finales over the next two weeks. "Ugly Betty," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost" are all new tonight. "Lost" is essentially a three-part finale, but the final two episodes won't air for two weeks.

Meanwhile, "Betty" and "Grey's wrap up next week, with the latter having a two-hour finale, which is why "Lost is being broken up. Fear not, though. "Lost" will re-air tonight's episode in two weeks at the 8 p.m. slot.

Incidentally, some more good news. The "Lost" producers confirmed that the two episodes that got nixed this year because of the strike will be made up over the show's final two seasons. So we'll get two 17-hour seasons rather than 16 as originally planned.

Late Night Shuffle

On vacation last week, I didn't get around to reporting the news that former "SNL" cast member Jimmy Fallon will be replacing Conan O'Brien on NBC's "Late Night" when O'Brien gets the "Tonight Show" gig next year.

My brother and his friends, who follow the late night talk show circuit a lot more than I do, seem to think this will be a disaster of Titanic proportions because none seem to be fans of Fallon. They aren't the only ones that are worried.

One TV critic, Tim Goodman, wrote a column wondering if would-be movie star Fallon would be able to reduce his own ego in favor of his guest's, something that every talk show host needs to do (though somehow Larry King has managed a career for 40 years without being able to do this). Another critic, Alan Sepinwall, seemed to think the opposite, that Fallon wouldn't have enough of a personality to make a go of things.

My thoughts? Let Fallon actually tape a show or two before passing judgment.

Here's the thing. I remember when O'Brien was first named Letterman's replacement. Here was a guy who hadn't appeared regularly in front of a camera or an audience who was taking over for the most popular host on TV at that point. Needless to say, no one thought much of Conan's chances, but a decade-plus later, he seems to have done well enough for himself.

The late night circuit is something of a crapshoot, anyway. I never thought much of Jimmy Kimmel before, but with his recent brilliant Matt Damon-Ben Affleck-Sarah Silverman love triangle videos, he's riding a huge wave of popularity.

On the other hand, Chevy Chase, who had a very successful movie career, may go down as the worst talk show host in history.

Now people are questioning whether Conan, arguably the top host right now not on a show produced by Comedy Central, can take over "The Tonight Show," which skews to an older audience than his. I'm guessing if you ask an NBC exec, they are counting on Conan's appeal among younger viewers to cut into the Comedy Central juggernaut of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."

Meanwhile, people are pointing to Fallon's lackluster movie career and the success of his former SNL partner Tina Fey as to reasons why he will fail. I'll point out that A) few people are as hot as Tina Fey right now, or as funny in general, and B) the six people who watched the movie "Collision Course" probably never imagined that Pat Morita's partner in that flick would be able to successfully replace the legendary Johnny Carson.

Let's see Fallon do his thing, and then pass judgment.

AROUND THE DIAL: It's going to be very difficult for anyone to replace the late Stanley Kamel as a recurring character on "Monk," but the producers have signed the always reliable Hector Elizondo to play Monk's (Tony Shalhoub) new therapist. ... Oscar nominee Amy Ryan will be joining "The Office" as a guest star as Toby's replacement, while Oscar and Emmy nominee Angela Bassett will be joining the cast of "ER" for its final season next year. ...

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: Can we please siphon just one of Thursday's great shows over to Wednesday's? Just one? Seriously, it'd free up my TV watching greatly to spread the wealth.

As it is, "American Idol" (Fox, 9 p.m.) dominates the night following new episodes of "Til Death" and "Back To You" on Fox.

"Criminal Minds" (CBS, 9 p.m.) is new, as is "CSI: NY" at 10 p.m., which squares off with a new episode of "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.) "Law & Order" (NBC, 10 p.m.) follows a two-hour "Deal Or No Deal."

The CW is debuting the new reality show "Farmer Wants a Wife" at 9 p.m. I'd watch, but I'm worried my liver will force its way into my neck, cutting the flow of blood off to my brain. Come to think of it, that may be the only way to watch this show.

Finally, the documentary series "Carrier" (PBS, 9 p.m.) continues tonight.

'Eli's' Coming, With The Season Finale

ABC has cornered the market this season on whimsy, offering viewers the likes of the delightful "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money."

Right up there has been the ever-improving "Eli Stone" (ABC, 10 p.m.), which wraps up its first season tonight with Eli (Jonny Lee Miller) in a coma after the surgery to remove his aneurysm goes wrong.

I'm pulling for both Eli Stone the character and "Eli Stone" the series to survive next season. It's one of those bubble shows that hasn't gotten a full commitment from ABC for next year.

(For a list of other shows and their chances, check out TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello's list here: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Favorite/800037719)

It's been an interesting ride with Eli as he tries to cope with his visions, which include a plethora of George Michael songs, and his cases. The writers do a good job of making us care each week whether Eli and his law partners win such cases as the rights of prisoners or even two gay chimps who want to live together.

The supporting cast is also first-rate, especially the always-terrrific Victor Garber as Eli's boss and father figure. (Note to producers: include more musical numbers for Garber next season.)

And credit the producers for moving the story along. They could have dragged out Eli's secret being revealed or his relationship with his ex (Natasha Henstridge), and destroying the Golden Gate Bridge (through CGI) last week was particularly inspired, because it let the viewers know anything can happen. As a viewer, you don't expect to see something like that, so it proved to be a delightful surprise to me.

I always pull for shows that have a true sense of originality, and they don't come more original than "Eli Stone." Here's hoping we get a lot more George Michael numbers in the future.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: It's like a conspiracy that all of the networks get together and decide to put their best stuff on Thursdays. In the end, it's a victory for we, the viewers (and helps make up for crappy Wednesdays.)

In case you need a refresher for the return of "Lost" next week (at its new 10 p.m. time slot), ABC is running the last two episodes from a few weeks ago from 8-10 p.m. The first deals with Sun's pregnancy, making for one of the most poignant moments of the season, while the second one tells us what happened to Michael after leaving the island.

NBC's comedy lineup is all new, beginning with "My Name Is Earl." (NBC, 8 p.m.) Please let Earl get out of the coma, already. Jack tries to recruit Tracy to join the Republican Party on "30 Rock," while "The Office" gang fights for their parking spots, finishing with an all-new "Scrubs" before an all-new "ER" at 10 p.m.

Someone is definitely supposed to die soon on "Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.) No spoilers here, but if I were a betting man, I'm guessing Lionel Luthor. It's followed by a rerun of "Supernatural," but it's the best episode of the season - Dean is killed over and over and over in the show's tribute to "Groundhog Day." If you have never seen this series before - and it's one of the most underrated shows on TV - this is the episode to catch, folks.

It's Quiet Out There...Too Quiet

They say that no news is good news, but in the case of the Hollywood labor talks between the writers and the studios, no news is simply no news.

Today marks the end of the contract between the studios and the Writers Guild of America, and the writers voted 90 percent in favor of a strike. But so far, there have been no picket lines and Friday will likely be the earliest the writers will strike.

Of course, when there is any labor stoppage that interrupts a service that Americans have come to expect, people look to blame one side or the other. But this is a case of both sides sincerely trying to look out for their own long-term interests in the changing climate of the entertainment industry.

From the studios' perspective, movies and TV shows have become so expensive to make that the only way they turn a profit is through alternative forms of media, such as DVD sales and downloading onto platforms such as iPods or cell phones. When you are talking about multi-millions of dollars, it's a lot of money that studios don't want to give away, especially since any concessions they make to the writers now they would likely have to do again in June when the actors' and directors' contracts are up.

From the writers' perspective, writers have always gotten the short-shrift in Hollywood, be it money or influence on their projects. Because the current technology wasn't much of a factor the last time the WGA negotiated a deal, there weren't many provisions covering things like DVD sales, meaning the writers are getting a pittance off a billion dollar industry, and get virtually nothing from downloads. The new contract the WGA wants not only would give the organization a greater piece of the pie, but would also cover any other new technology that is created to be a media platform. Who knows, in five years someone might create a platform that beams a movie directly into a person's brain.

A strike, or at least the threat of one, is the only weapon the writers have in terms of leverage. No strike would mean that the studios could dictate whatever monetary numbers they want for the new contract.

It's a critical issue for writers. Though you often read that a writer might sell a script for $1 million, you have to remember that the bulk of the WGA is unemployed most of the time. It takes years to sell a single script for a movie (trust me on this) and TV shows get cancelled all the time, putting writers out of work. Each year, during the TV staffing season, you get literally tens of thousands of writers competing for only a few hundred jobs.

This is a complex negotiation that won't be settled any time soon, strike or no strike. There are a few movies in the pipeline, so it will be a few months before studios suffer in that department, but most TV shows at best have only filmed about half their episodes. Without scripts, producers - even though most of them are the writers themselves - can't get any work done.

A strike will affect late-night variety shows the earliest, everything from "Saturday Night Live" to "The Daily Show" to "The Late Show With David Letterman." Those shows rely on topical jokes and are written within the same week of broadcast.

Dramatic TV, from sitcoms to one-hour shows, will be next. Those shows currently airing have enough scripts to make it likely January or even February, but nothing after that. For shows that have season-long arcs and storylines, like "Heroes" or "Desperate Housewives," for example, the long break between new episodes could be especially jarring for viewers. And networks will have a decision to make on shows like "24" and "Lost," which debut in the winter. Those shows are ones that the networks want to show without any breaks in the season, something they won't be able to do without completed episodes in the can. Do the networks want to potentially air only 10 episodes of "24," for example, and then pull it because there's nothing left to broadcast?

As a viewer, a strike will mean more reality shows, more game shows and more animated shows, since the writers on those types of shows aren't covered under this WGA contract. (At least we will get new "Simpsons" and "Family Guy.") TV news shows like "60 Minutes" also won't be affected.

Some of the networks are already adjusting their scheduling in anticipation of the strike. NBC has yanked production of the spinoff "Heroes: Origins," issuing a statement that the labor uncertainty has impacted the decision, and other projects like that will likely follow.

I'll post updates here about the labor talks as often as possible.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: OK, on to happier news. Any time Joss Whedon returns to TV, it's extremely happy. Tonight, the master returns as director of "The Office" (NBC, 9 p.m.), following Jason Reitman's great turn last week. Whedon directed last year's installment about the bat trapped in the Dunder-Mifflin office. In other Joss Whedon news, he's signed on to be the showrunner for Eliza Dushku's new series on Fox, "Dollhouse." (Why Dushku or Whedon would want to work with Fox again after the shoddy treatment both have gotten at the hands of the network over the years is beyond me, but that's the subject for another blog.) "The Office" follows a double-helping of "My Name Is Earl" (NBC, 8 p.m.) and is followed by an all-new "Scrubs" and "ER."

I love how "Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.) always keeps things in the Superman family, what with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terrence Stamp, Annette O'Toole and Dean Cain (two weeks ago) - all with past Superman connections in other films and TV shows - appearing on this one. That tradition continues tonight when Helen Slater, the original "Supergirl" from the terrible 1980s movie, guest-starring tonight as Lara, Clark's (Tom Welling) birth mother. In other "Smallville" news, another classic DC Comics character will make an appearance when Black Canary, played by Alaina Huffman, debuts on the Jan. 10 episode. Naturally, Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) and fishnet stockings will both be making an appearance as well. A new "Supernatural" (CW, 9 p.m.) follows.

Betty (America Ferrera) has a date with Broadway on "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 8 p.m.), followed by a new "Grey's Anatomy" and "Big Shots."

CBS is all-new with "Survivor" at 8 p.m., "CSI" at 9 p.m. and "Without A Trace" at 10 p.m. Next week, "CSI" and "Trace" will have a crossover plot between both shows.

Finally, if you missed the wonderful "Mad Men" the first time around, AMC is re-airing the pilot tonight at 10 p.m. I strongly urge you to catch one of the best shows this year, with a star-making turn by Jon Hamm as Don Draper, an advertising executive in 1960 Manhattan.

Too Much Of A Good Thing

TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello reported yesterday that NBC is supposedly looking at a spinoff for "The Office." Set in a different brance of Dunder-Mifflin, the new version would have an entire new cast and be introduced in a backdoor pilot on the original.

Despite "The Office" still being one of the sitcoms on the air, I think this is a mistake on NBC's part, because it would dilute the original product.

Look, I'm the guy who said the hour-long versions of "The Office" were too much, so I'm definitely a less-is-more kind of critic. You can have too much of a good thing.

Look at all of the "Law & Orders" and "CSIs" out there. (I'm surprised we haven't been subjected to "Law & Order: CSI" yet.) And while "Private Practice," (ABC, 9 p.m.)the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff is doing solid ratings, it's been both a commercial and critical disappointment thus far despite a big-name cast.

While a critical success with a legion of loyal fans, "The Office" isn't exactly a ratings blockbuster, and it would be a mistake of having to spread the talented crew behind it too thin with another show.

Meanwhile, from the more-is-more category, check out this abbreviated pilot for what would have been "Veronica Mars" Season 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI8PI8y_-M8.

By the way, guys and gals, great discussion yesterday on "The Biggest Loser." Let's have more of those!

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: Joining "Private Practice" tonight are two of ABC's best new shows of the season, "Pushing Daisies" at 8 p.m. and "Dirty Sexy Money" at 10 p.m.

And, speaking of "CSI," the NY version is tonight (CBS, 10 p.m.), following "Kids Nation" and "Criminal Minds."

NBC is pre-empting "Bionic Woman" tonight for a two-hour "Phenomenon" (NBC, 8 p.m.), but at least, "Life" (NBC, 10 p.m.) is new.

And The Agony Continues...

I'm not, by nature, an optimist.

So almost every Georgia-Florida weekend since I started at UGA way back in 1990 has been something of pure torture for me, as I'm sure it's been for the rest of Bulldawg Nation.

I carry little hopes that this year's Cocktail Party (CBS, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) is going to be much better. Georgia got whipped by Tennessee two games ago and barely beat Vandy before this past weekend's bye week.

My lone ember of hope is that this season, there are about five upsets every weekend, everything from Appalachian State winning at Michigan to USC losing at home despite being a 41-point favorite. Will the Dogs get swept up in upset mania and change what has been a constant fate for most of the past two decades?

I don't know, but winning this game more than once a decade would be nice.

THURSDAY RECAP: Maybe it was having Jason Reitman on board as director, or maybe it was the return to the half-hour format, but last night's "The Office" was definitely the strongest effort of the season, from Dwight and Andy's different reactions to the initial "D" to Michael's commercial, a classic Michael Scott joint if I ever saw one. Hopefully, NBC will finally learn the lesson that you can have too much of a good thing.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Well, I dissed "Moonlight" (CBS, 9 p.m.) with my initial review, and four episodes in, I still don't think it's very good, but it continues to pull together a steady following. One of the few things I liked about the show was Jason Dohring's character of Josef, but he has hardly had anything to do thus far and wasn't even in last week's installment. And I still prefer the wide variety of demons and supernatural creatures that the gang on "Angel" fought to the vampire-of-the-week or really-bad-human-of-the-week that "Moonlight" is seemingly stuck with. A new "Ghost Whisperer" precedes it, while the night wraps up with "Numb3rs."

"Women's Murder Club" (ABC, 9 p.m.) is carving out its own niche on Fridays. It's a solid show, certainly not appointment television, but fairly entertaining if you are home on a Friday. It's followed by the cult hit, "Men In Trees."

Unfortunately, with both "Moonlight" and "Club" doing well, it takes away potential viewership from the night's best show, "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 9 p.m.) Much like the cast and crew of the show, I'm resigning myself to the fact that this is never going to get even fair ratings despite superior acting and writing. If this is the last year, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. It's followed by "Las Vegas," in which former Tom Selleck's former "Magnum, PI" buddies Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley show up for a mini-reunion.

"Torchwood" (BBC America, Sat., 9 p.m.) is all-new and coming off its most ingenious episode yet last week.

On Sunday, new episodes of "Cold Case" (CBS, 9 p.m.) and "Shark" (CBS, 10 p.m.) compete with Game 4 of the World Series (Fox, 8 p.m.), as do ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers and Sisters," from 9-11 p.m.

As always, the pick for Sundays is the ingenious "Dexter," (Showtime, 9 p.m.), which is followed by a new "Brotherhood" at 10 p.m.

Network Upfronts IV: Fox

Technically, I have the upfronts for both Fox and the CW today, but I'll just focus on the former today and the latter tomorrow. (Sneak peek for tomorrow - "Veronica Mars" is 99.9 percent dead.)

Say this for Fox. It knows its audience. The networks upfronts show probably the broadest mix of shows that will be added to a pretty strong roster (ratings wise) already.

Fox being Fox, the new shows contain a higher mix of reality-based shows than the other networks, but considering Fox's bread-and-butter is "American Idol," this probably doesn't come as a shock.

Among the new reality shows is an "AI" spinoff, tentatively titled "The Search For the Next Great American Band" (Fridays, 8 p.m.), getting an odd timeslot considering the audience it's targeting. One would have presumed it would be in "AI's" slots, but hey, what do I know? It will be joined by "Nashville," (Fridays, 9 p.m.), from the producers of "Laguna Beach," about presumably very good looking people trying to make it on the Nashville music and social scene.

Gordon Ramsay will have a second show with the network, called "Kitchen Nightmares," in which he tries to turn around struggling restaurants.

On the scripted front, Fox has one of the more highly anticipated sitcoms for next year, "Back To You," starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as newscasters.

Drama-wise, Fox is offering "K-Ville," (Mondays, 9 p.m.) starring Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser as cops in post-Katrina New Orleans, and "New Amsterdam," (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.) about an immortal detective in New York, produced by Lasse Hallstrom.

Fox has probably done a better job than most networks in dividing up its fall and midseason schedules. After getting killed early on, Fox was able to ride out "AI," "24" and others to ratings victories. In fact, its midseason replacements look more intriguing than the stuff this fall. Among those shows are:

-"Canterbury's Law," starring Julianna Margulies as a win-at-all-costs defense attorney. The show is produced by Denis Leary and Jim Serpico of "Rescue Me" fame, so I have a lot of high hopes with this one.

-"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" picks up in the timeline between "Terminator 2" and "T3." Lena Headey ("300") takes over in the Linda Hamilton role.

-"Return of Jezebel James" is a comedy starring Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as sisters.

-"Starting Over," starring Rashida Jones of "The Office" is a sitcom produced by the Farrelly brothers.

On the bright side, Fox isn't foisting any more shows like "Vanished" upon us.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: Season finales galore tonight.

ABC leads things off with the final episodes this season of "Ugly Betty" at 8 p.m., followed by Christina and Burke's wedding on "Grey's Anatomy" at 9 p.m. At 10 p.m. is the intriguing "Lost: Answers" in which producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindleof attempt to answer some of the shows questions before next week's finale. My guess is that very little will be revealed.

"The Office" (NBC, 8 p.m.) wraps up its season with an hour-long finale. Two endings were filmed with this one, so don't necessarily believe anything you read about it on the Internet. It's followed by the season-finale of "Scrubs," in which presumably J.D. will choose between Kim and Elliott. "ER" also wraps up at 10 p.m.

"Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.) wraps up its season on an awesome note, bringing back the Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris), while "Supernatural" has been awesome all season, so I expect nothing less out of tonight's finale.

CBS continues the Bob Barker celebrations by looking back at his 50 years in TV at 8 p.m., while "CSI" finishes up tonight at 9 p.m.