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.

If you've been watching NBC's Olympic coverage, you must have seen all of the promotion they have been doing for their fall season. New shows My Own Worst Enemy, Crusoe, Knight Rider, Kath & Kim, and America's Toughest Jobs have all had plenty of play. As have the returning Chuck and Life. Given that the latest Olympiad is closing in on becoming the most watched television event of all time, you might think those promo spots were pretty valuable.

Apparently, not so much. The Hollywood Reporter runs down the record for the network promoting new shows during past games. In 2004, the Athens games led to one show, Joey, making it beyond its first season. Likewise for the Sydney games in 2000, which brought us Ed, and nothing else. Things were a little better in 1996 from Atlanta. Profiler, The Pretender, and Suddenly Susan all lasted another four years. Not a stellar track record and it leaves you thinking that those precious spots might have served the network better pitching more beer. It has the makings of a good poll though. After the jump, place your vote for the one new show that will make it out of season one.

Some day I should probably type up an official list of the actresses who, by their mere presence, will guarantee I'll watch a series. The fact that I saw every episode of Freddie should serve as proof that Mädchen Amick is on that list. After following that up with Viva Laughlin, I think we can all agree that this latest role has her career moving in the generally upwards direction.

My Own Worst Enemy was already on my short list of new shows to keep an eye on in the fall. It's an interesting premise, has Christian Slater, and the previews look great. The addition of Amick just makes it that much more intriguing. She'll be taking over the role of Henry's wife that was originally played by Yara Martinez (The Unit). It's a bit of rough luck for Martinez. Before this she was set to appear in that ill-fated Spaced remake.

Today was the very last day of the press tour here in Beverly Hills. It was "TCA Day," with members of the association (including me) going to the Warner Brothers lot to visit the sets of ER, Pushing Daisies, and Chuck, where we spoke to cast members and producers (Oh, we went to the set of America's Best Dance Crew, but let's just forget I mentioned that one). Then we bused it over to the Fox lot, where Joss Whedon showed us around the set of Dollhouse, and the entire cast of King of the Hill gave a table read of their 250th episode. All this fun will be in upcoming posts later this summer.

Despite some of the griping you may have seen from me, it's been lots of fun. It's just a very tiring experience. Case in point: On Monday, NBC decided to close out the press conference portion of the tour by having us sit through ten panels, five of them after lunch. Here's a wrap-up post that goes over some of what went on yesterday that I haven't already covered.

Alfre Woodard has an exciting new role on the upcoming NBC drama My Own Worst Enemy. The Emmy winner is set to play Christian Slater's boss in the spy series, which premieres this fall. If you followed TV Squad's coverage of the upfronts, you already know that the drama focuses on a man (Slater) living two different lives: the life of an ordinary suburban father named Henry and the life of a spy named Edward.

Woodard's character, Mavis Heller, is Edward's "tough and astute boss" at headquarters. Like Edward, Mavis is leading a double life as well. Her alter ego, Helen, will be a part of Henry's suburban existence. My Own Worst Enemy premieres on Monday, September 29.

NBC has issued a press release with the premiere dates for all their fall shows. This way, you know when to set your DVR.

The full press release includes descriptions for each of the shows. New shows are in all caps.

Heroes will be the first scripted show to return with a two-hour premiere on September 22nd. The first new scripted show will be Knight Rider on September 24th (although I don't know if you could count it as new since they already broadcast the two-hour pilot).

Complete schedule after the jump.

It looks like someone took the effort to create a Flash player with embedded videos of many of the upcoming new fall shows. Included are clips from Dollhouse, Fringe, Life on Mars, The Eleventh Hour, Scrubs, The Cleveland Show, The Goode Family (pictured right) as well as several others. I only had a chance to look at some of them. The previews aren't of all the new shows available in the fall (NBC only has one preview), but it's still quite a few. Which ones are missing?

Embedded videos after the jump

So the networks have given their upfront presentations. It's not easy to pick which shows look the best. Sure, we can base our judgments on what "type" of show we usually like anyway or a producer that's involved or someone who is in the lead. But we're still just basing it on a description (or a snippet from each show). It really comes down to the writing and the execution in general.

Having said all that, here are the shows that look great to me, based on the upfront description, the cast and crew involved, and how my tastes run in general.

Actually, NBC already had its upfront over a month ago. This is a "spotlight event," a Part 2, if you will (a walk-thru set up at 30 Rock for advertisers and the media), but they did make some interesting announcements today.

This biggest announcement (though hardly a surprise at this point) was that Jimmy Fallon will take over on Late Night when Conan O'Brien takes over for Jay Leno. This will happen next year.

Here are some of the other announcements made at today's even and a recap of the new shows and the shows that have been canceled. And in this post, I promise not to fail you, rainbow chicken.

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.

(S07E01) One thing I can say about the season premiere of Scrubs' seventh and last season: It wasn't as lurchingly awkward as last year's season premiere. Or most of the first half of last season, for that matter. But that doesn't mean it was good.

There were a few laugh-out-loud moments, but most of the jokes fell pretty flat. And none of the flatness had anything to do with the conclusion of last year's cliffhanger, where J.D. and Elliot, trying to escape some big life changes, lie next to each other, and kinda sorta lean in for a kiss...