TVSquad

I don't think it's really going out on a limb to predict that NBC is going to find itself back in that familiar fourth place spot once this new season gets underway. It's become almost comical to look at what has happened to the network since the days of the unstoppable Must See Thursdays. Now though, as we head into the new season, I find that I only have interest in two of their new shows.

With one of them, My Own Worst Enemy, I seem to be in the minority. I'm having trouble finding anyone else that doesn't want to dismiss it out of hand as an inferior Jekyll. And the other, Kings, won't be premiering any time soon. The network isn't without its prizes. Chuck, Heroes, and The Office are all very good, but I don't expect any giant gains in ratings for any of them. Those would have to come from the new shows, and I'm just not seeing that happening. It's not a good way to kick off a new season, and that's just the start of the troubles. Nikki Finke is now reporting that the impending doom of the new schedule, combined with a host of other troubles, will bring about a shakeup at the top of the network.

Even more-so than Rich, I was indeed a Comic-Con newbie. I'd never been to a single one before this past weekend. The closest I've come is Linux World. You can stop laughing now.

Let me start out by stating the obvious, though those unfamiliar with Comic-Con may not know this: Comic-Con is an out-of-control monster. It doesn't quite know what it is, nor do the people attending it. To see everything, you'd need six or seven clones of yourself. The "comic" in Comic-Con must mean that it's comical, not that it's about comic books, because it's about much more than that these days. Television, Movies, Books, Toys, Games ... about the only entertainment medium that isn't represented is radio, and that I'm not even sure is true.

(NOTE: The banner on the left for our Comic-Con coverage should be working now)

Finally, after sweating through the line outside to get into the freakin' place, I'm at the first panel for Comic-Com 2008. First up is NBC's Kings. Joel had some things to say about the show during last week's TCA coverage, and this was a bit more of the same. The biggest difference this time being that fans of the show and the actors are able to get up and ask questions, rather than a bunch of grumpy reporters (sorry Joel, had to say it).

I'm going to start with some bullet points, then update later on with details.

Tell you one thing about Ian McShane: he doesn't take any guff from anyone. Say something that he thinks is a load of crap and he'll tell you in no uncertain terms.

So, you can imagine what happens when you combine McShane's orneriness with a group of cranky critics who've been put through a long day by the folks at NBC on the last day of the press tour (there will be a day of set visits on Tueday, but no ballroom press conferences). The last panel is for McShane's new mid-season show, Kings, and the critics have been made extra cranky by the fact that, like all of NBC's new shows, they haven't seen the pilot for it yet. Mix in a somewhat hard-to-grasp premise. Stir liberally, and you get some momentary fireworks that woke up the collected critics at the very end of a long day.

NBC unveiled their new schedule today, weeks ahead of all of the other networks, and here are some highlights of their "52-week schedule".

New shows: My Own Worst Enemy, with Christian Slater as a spy (Monday at 10); the island adventure series Crusoe (Friday at 8); the Molly Shannon sitcom Kath & Kim (Tuesday at 9:30); and the remake of Knight Rider (Wednesday at 8). The new drama The Philanthropist will air in the My Own Worst Enemy's time slot in the winter. Two other dramas will also debut in the winter: Kings (with Ian McShane) and Merlin, as will the reality show America's Toughest Jobs.

Returning: 30 Rock, Medium, The Office, Celebrity Apprentice, Life, Chuck, Heroes, Dateline, Deal Or No Deal, My Name Is Earl, America's Got Talent, Last Comic Standing, Nashville Star, The Biggest Loser, American Gladiators, SNL, ER, Law and Order, and Law and Order: SVU.

Gone: Scrubs (probably moving to ABC), Bionic Woman, Amnesia, 1 vs. 100, Journeyman.

Well, here's hoping that the powers that be were reading TV Squad after the two-hour Knight Rider movie premiered last February. Then, at least they'll know how to fix the show, because NBC has picked up Knight Rider as a series for the 2008-2009 schedule, and it's going to need some re-tooling.

That's the phrase they love to use in the business to describe all the work that's needed to turn a turkey -- albeit one with great ratings -- into a successful series. And Knight Rider, as conceived in that TV movie/back door pilot, needs some major work.

Chances are the NBC censor will not have to worry about Ian McShane's mouth this time around; he won't be playing Frank in Deadwood. No, the new role he's tackling is a much more majestic kind of guy. What am I talking about? Ian McShane has been cast as one of the title characters in NBC's new drama Kings.

McShane, who was a memorable, dirty-mouthed proprietor of a seedy saloon on HBO's Deadwood, will be King Silas on Kings. The Universal project is said to be set in modern times, although its based on a story from the Old Testament, King David (remember Richard Gere in the movie of the same name?)