ABC's New Strategy

It's been no secret that ABC hasn't developed a truly great sitcom in recent memory.

While it's had a couple of decent ones this year - the just-finished "Miss Guided" and "Samantha Who?" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.), which returns tonight - this is the same network that also brought us "Cavemen" and "Carpoolers."

So somebody had the bright idea of poaching some good sitcoms off other networks. ABC has already made it all-but-official that it will be picking up the final season of "Scrubs" now that NBC has dropped the show.

Now, according to the trades, the network is looking at CBS' "New Adventures of Old Christine," a wickedly funny bubble show that may or may not be renewed by The Eye.

If ABC picks up both shows, it would give the network two solidly, critically praised sitcoms, something it hasn't had, I think, in my lifetime.

It's a wonder that ABC can create some of the most innovative, clever dramas ("Lost," "Pushing Daisies," "Eli Stone" et. al.) but can't do the same with its 30-minute shows. Here's hoping they've picked up on a new idea and let the other networks do the heavy lifting before grabbing some good sitcoms up.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: Meanwhile, ABC will have to be content with the boffo ratings it gets from its reality offerings, "Dancing With The Stars" at 8 p.m. and "The Bachelor" at 10 p.m.

CBS is picking its best-rated but worst comedies to precede tonight's NCAA Basketball Championship (CBS, 9 p.m.) with "Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men," beginning at 8 p.m.

Fox has what I believe is the penultimate "New Amsterdam" for this season at 9 p.m., while NBC airs a new "Medium" at 10 p.m.

When Old Becomes New Again

NBC made it official over the weekend when it announced it would be picking up "Knight Rider" as a full-time series once more.

The TV-movie garnered big ratings during a time when the strike had knocked out original programming, and at this point, NBC needs a hit. I'm guessing, though, that people watched the movie because of a sense of nostalgia, heavy promotion and the lack of anything better on. I'm guessing a weekly version of "Knight Rider" probably won't do as well.

But it does underscore the notion that the networks are running out of ideas, between sequels, remakes and grabbing ideas off foreign TV. For every "Battlestar Galactica" that is remade and done better than the original version, you get many more "Bionic Woman"-type failures. (Ironically, both shows were recreated in part by David Eick.)

Newsday's Diane Werts writes about the phenomenon here: http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/partii/ny-ettell5625063mar26,0,3166293.column.

BRAVES ON TV: A regular reader of this column e-mailed me a while ago, asking me where the Braves games would be shown in Macon when they were scheduled for the new Peachtree TV. The answer? Cox Cable Channel 15.

The games will be split between Peachtree TV and Fox SportsSouth, but the Braves will also take part in the national game of the week on both Fox and ESPN. On the radio, Maconites can listen to the team on ESPN 105.5 FM.

When I worked in The Telegraph's sports department, one of my biggest pet peeves was people calling and asking where the Braves' game was that night. It's pretty simple; check Channel 15 or Fox Sports South (Channel 64 on Cox Cable) first; if it's a Wednesday night or a Saturday afternoon, check ESPN or Fox, respectively.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: Jason Alexander makes for a mini-"Seinfeld" reunion as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' physician on the season finale of "Old Christine" (CBS, 9:30 p.m.), part of a night of all-new CBS sitcoms, followed by a new "CSI: Miami." (BTW, anyone catch the David Caruso glasses takeoff on "The Simpsons" last night?)

Viewers meet another of John's many kids on "New Amsterdam" (Fox, 9 p.m.), while "Medium" (NBC, 10 p.m.) wraps up a two-parter.

Laying Down The 'Law'

Juliana Margulies marks her return to TV tonight as the lead in "Canterbury's Law." (Fox, 8 p.m.)

The series is being done by Denis Leary and Jim Serpico of "Rescue Me" fame, and not surprisingly, "Law" focuses on a self-destructive anti-heroine who often travels into legal gray areas to free her clients.

Fox disappointed me again by not sending me a DVD screener, so I can't tell you if it is any good or not, but Margulies is always a reliable actress, and with the "Rescue Me" guys behind it, the show is definitely worth checking out.

The series also fits in to Fox's strategy of backloading everything into the second half of the TV year for overall ratings success. While the other networks, for the most part, have struggled during the strike months and post-strike last few weeks, Fox has been able to launch "American Idol," "New Amsterdam" and "Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles" to keep things fresh. "Canterbury's Law" got delayed in the fall when Margulies became pregnant, but with the strike, it turned out to be serendipitous.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: "Canterbury's Law" will be followed by "New Amsterdam" (Fox, 9 p.m.) as it settles into its regular timeslot. This show has turned out to be a bit better than expected, so do check it out.

If you decide to go against my advice, there's always "The Bachelor: Where Are They Now?" (ABC, 8 p.m.), which traces what has happened to previous contestants. Here's a hint - almost none of the couples have stayed together. It's followed by a doubleshot of "October Road."

Speaking of doubles, CBS gives us a double helping of "Old Christine" at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Anything that gives us more Julia Louis-Dreyfus and less "Welcome To The Captain" is a good trend.

NBC has a new "Medium" at 10 p.m. On cable, both "Kyle XY" and "Wildfire" are new on ABC Family, beginning at 8 p.m.

Recapping The Super Bowl, The Strike And The Captain

Well, the best news of the weekend came out of Hollywood, where there looks like there might be some settlement to the writers' strike. Word on the street is that something could be hammered out by as early as this week, which means many shows may be back in production by the end of the month.

What that means in terms of how many episodes of each series we'll get and which shows will return is still up in the air. You can be sure the networks will try to get as many episodes of the big hits like "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI" as possible, but other shows may not fare as well. For example, "Pushing Daisies" has likely wrapped up its brilliant first season already.

Meanwhile, no real complaints about the Super Bowl last night, except that we will be subjected to the '72 Dolphins for a while longer now that the Patriots lost.

And who the hell was operating the clock last night? Was that the Fox graphics department screwing up all night, or was that the stadium scoreboard which was screwing up? Either way, the constant misfiring on the clock was a distraction all night, and set up that last-second weirdness of everyone having to trot back on the field after the game was over.

Of course, as a friend of mine told me, she was eager to watch the series of Super Bowl commercials which were constantly being broken up by spurts of football. As for the commercials, Pepsi/Diet Pepsi came out strong, as did Bridgestone. Budweiser always does a good job, and I liked the "Godfather" parody. But boy, were there ever commercials that came off as more racist than those done by salesgenie.com?

The "House" episode afterward was great, especially the guest turn by Mira Sorvino, and I love the way the producers have brought back Cutthroat Bitch.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: So, I watched the pilot for "The Captain," (CBS, 8:30 p.m.) and I realized The Telegraph doesn't pay me enough for this job. Watching it in unison with the return of the always-entertaining "Old Christine" (CBS, 9:30 p.m.) makes me wonder who makes the programming decisions at the network. The former is completely devoid of humor and is drowned out by this incessant rock music track; the latter features an Emmy-worthy performance by the brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"The Captain" is about a burnt out writer who moves into his friend's apartment building, where he meets the requisite cast of weird characters. It's utterly predictable and seriously devoid of funny. Save yourselves a half-hour of wasted time. (CBS said this was the revised pilot; I can't imagine how the original pilot could have possibly been less funny.)

"Prison Break" (Fox, 8 p.m.), coming off a brilliant promotional spot during the Super Bowl, is back as the gang tries to escape yet another prison. It's followed by a new "Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles" at 9 p.m.

"Dance War" (ABC, 8 p.m.) is back, as is extended versions of "American Gladiators" (NBC, 8 p.m.) and "Deal Or No Deal" (NBC, 9:30 p.m.) On cable, "Kyle XY" (ABC Family, 8 p.m.) is new.