TVSquad

• At 8, ABC has the premiere of the game show Duel, followed by new episodes of Notes from the Underbelly and October Road.
• NBC has the premiere of the new game show Clash of the Choirs at 8, then a new Journeyman.
• TCM has Frank Sinatra in Come Blow Your Horn at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances.
• There's a new K-Ville on FOX at 9.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• Lifetime has the movie Lost Holiday: The Jim and Suzanne Shemwell Story at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie Angel in the Family at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has Winning Holiday Cookies.
• At 10, TNT has a new Saving Grace.

Check your local TV listings for more.

... Six welcome returns.

Every fall season I get stoked about all the new shows, with cool new premises ("A guy travels through time trying to make right what once went wrong!"-- Journeyman not Quantum Leap), and all the big changes in store for existing shows. But it's equally exciting to see which beloved actors will be returning to television. Brad Garrett coming back to television in 'Til Death last year? Cool! Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer both coming back to television ... together? That's gotta be awesome, right? Jerry O'Connell on Carpoolers ... well ... ? I like the guy, but I'm not scheduling a 'Welcome Back' shindig for him.

Half the fun of a new television season is the return of great actors and actresses to the small screen. And while I could have easily done 10 or even 20 of these, I've narrowed it down to the six talents who were most welcome back in my house on a weekly basis this past year. I've even been so bold as to rank them. Feel free to agree, disagree and present your own lists in the comments.

• At 8, ABC has I Want A Dog For Christmas Charlie Brown!, then new episodes of Samantha Who?, Notes from the Underbelly, and October Road.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother at 8.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris, then new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Deal or No Deal at 8, followed by a new Journeyman.
• PBS has a holiday jazz concert on a new Live From Lincoln Center at 8.
• Also at 8: Alton Brown tries to bake a good fruitcake on Food Network's Good Eats.
• At 9, FOX has a new K-Ville.
• Lifetime has the movie The Road To Christmas at 9.
• Food Network has Wintertime Treats Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new CSI: Miami.
• TNT has a new Saving Grace at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has the season finale (fall finale?) of Chuck, then the season finale (fall finale?) of Heroes, and then a new Life (special night - part 2 airs Weds at 10).
• ABC has A Charlie Brown Christmas at 8, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who?, Notes from the Underbelly, and October Road.
• ABC Family has Christmas specials starting at 8: The Year Without A Santa Claus, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island of Misfit Toys, and Nestor The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.
• TNT has a new Christmas episode of The Closer at 8, then a new Saving Grace.
• Also at 8: Food Network has a new Good Eats, followed by a new The Secret Life Of...
• At 8:30, ESPN has the Patriots/Ravens game.
• At 9, FOX has a new K-Ville.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Lifetime has the movie A Dad For Christmas at 9.
• Sci-Fi has the second part of Tin Man. It's on at 9 as well.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who? and The Bachelor.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother at 8.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8, then new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• Also at 8: Food Network has Ham On Turkey.
• At 9, CBS has a new Two and Half Men, followed by new episodes Rules of Engagement and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has a new K-Ville at 9.
• PBS has two new episodes of Athens: The Dawn of Democracy.
• TBS has the special Ellen's Really Big Show at 9.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker, also at 9.
• At 10, Showtime has a new Weeds.
• E! has The Soup Presents at 10, focusing on celeb families.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then new episodes of Samantha Who? and The Bachelor.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother at 8, followed by new episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman.
• FOX has a new Prison Break at 8, then a new K-Ville.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8, then new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World starting at 8.
• TCM has Twelve Angry Men at 8.
• At 9, PBS has Billy Crystal: The Mark Twain Prize.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Food Network has Thanksgiving Unwrapped at 9.
• Also at 9: GSN has a new High Stakes Poker.
• At 10: Showtime has a new Weeds.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here's a weird possible benefit for some TV shows: the strike could actually help some shows stick around longer.

Why? Since production on many TV shows has shut down, the networks might be a little antsy about wasting what original programming they have. So a show that might otherwise be on the edge of being put on hiatus or even cancellation might get a bit of a reprieve and stick around longer.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who? and The Bachelor.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother, then new episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman.
• There's a new Prison Break on FOX at 8, then a new K-Ville.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8, followed by new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends and The Game.
• AMC's Monsterfest starts this week. Tonight at 8 its Scream 3, followed by Dracula 2000 and Poltergeist 2.
• At 8:30, ESPN has the Colts/Jaguars game.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• Also at 10: Showtime has a new Weeds, then a new Californication.
• At 2am, AMC has Creepshow, then 1958's Blood of the Vampire.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Another fall, another new fall season. Not all of the new shows can survive, of course, and it usually takes a few weeks to figure out what shows are in trouble of being canceled (or, as they say in network-speak, "on hiatus"). We'd like to see new shows get more time to catch on, but thems the breaks. One show has already been pulled from the schedule, FOX's Nashville, but what about other new shows?

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Bachelor.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother, followed by The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman.
• There's a new Prison Break on FOX at 8, then a new K-Ville.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris, followed by new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• At 8:30, ESPN has the Cowboys/Bills game.
• At 9, USA has new Monday Night RAW.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has a new Unwrapped.
• At 10, Showtime has a new Weeds, then a new Californication.
• MTV has a new ep of The Hills at 10.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10, followed by a new The Secret Life Of...

Check your local TV listings for more.

Dancing with the Stars seems to be unstoppable. The two-hour long episode of the celebrity dancing show led ABC to a win last night (along with The Bachelor) in not only households but also the 18-49 demographic.

NBC was second in 18-49 (tied for third in households) with Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman. CBS tied them with How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami (which rolled over The Bachelor and Journeyman, of course). FOX was number four in both households and 18-49 with Prison Break and K-Ville, and then The CW, with Everybody Hates Chris, the series premiere of Aliens in America, then Girlfriends and The Game.

By the way, all of the new shows (Chuck, Journeyman, Big Bang Theory, and K-Ville) dropped a bit in their second weeks, in both households and 18-49.