TVSquad

Ok, it is after midnight here in the Jet City, and as I sit down to bang this post out on my beloved Model M it would appear that my tasty glass of juice is half empty. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to spin this news in a positive direction that will lead to a 2009 full of Dollhouse win.

Tucked away in a report on various network goings on over at Hollywood Reporter is a little line that says "Dollhouse is expected to launch mid-season." This is me shaking my fist in the general direction of Fox and screaming "Khaaaaan!" Just, because. Doesn't this seem like a road that has been traveled before? It's one that usually leads to a pretty disappointing destination. We haven't seen the finished fall schedule yet, but I would wager that most of us could easily find three or four hours where the network would be better served by inserting Dollhouse. Highlights of what the networks have planned are available after the jump.

Fox has made the call, and it's a big "see ya later" for Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. But their loss is someone else's gain. The pilot for the Jason Bateman directed comedy series The Inn has been picked up for a 13-week commitment, while Back to You has been axed. The Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher sitcom, Til Death, meanwhile, has been given another year.

Bateman, who starred in Arrested Development -- the Emmy-award winning comedy that the network dumped unceremoniously because of low ratings -- was behind the camera for The Inn pilot. The show, which is about the haves and have-nots in a fancy, five-star New York City hotel, has a promising cast of funny folks including Niecy Nash (Reno 911!), Jerry O'Connell (who looks like Jason's twin), and the really hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson (remember him on The Class -- he was so funny!).

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: pacheco

This week, a scene from last night's episode of Lost ...

Showbiz has gone green, and that's not just ecologically! Green is flashing all over Hollywood. CBS has given the greenlight to three more pilots, including a doctor drama, a psychic romance, and a British-based tale of international love.

NY-LON (no, not nylon the fabric!), refers to the New York-London connection via air. The story, which writers Patti Carr and Lara Runnels (who both worked on 'Til Death) are translating from the U.K. version, is about a British businessman who meets a New York City record store clerk while she's in London, and then their subsequent attempts to maintain a transatlantic romance. The series ran seven episodes in England, which is not atypical. Of course, for American TV, many more episodes than that will be necessary to constitute a hit.

Is the final season of Battlestar Galactica in danger now because of the ongoing WGA (Writer's Guild of America) strike? According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, NBC Universal is utilizing the force majeure clause in SAG (Screen Actors Guild) agreements to suspend actors' and actresses' working contracts. The clause indicates studios and networks can do this if production is halted on their shows.

It looks like letters have been sent to the casts of such shows as The Office, 30 Rock, Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica. Sony Pictures has sent similar letters to the casts of Til Death and Rules of Engagement, indicating that more letters could be forthcoming from other studios if the strike lingers.

FOX really does it up for TCA: there was a Hell's Kitchen omelette breakfast, and the entire ballroom was done up in silver tablecloths and silver chairs. The pages wore parkas, I guess playing up the "winter" theme, despite the fact we're in semi-warm Pasadena.

But the biggest news is the press release they put out announcing some of their schedule changes. In order to accommodate three new series, the network will move 'Til Death will air on Wednesdays at 9:30, after American Idol, starting on March 14 (there will be post-Idol airings on Feb. 27 and 28, as well). The War at Home moves to Sundays at 7:30, starting March 4, and Standoff will air on Fridays at 8, starting March 30.

The new shows: Tim Minear's Drive, which will launch with a 2-night, 3-hour premiere on April 15 and 16 (then take Prison Break's timeslot when its over - thanks, Jefferson!). The Winner, with Rob Corddry, will premiere with two episodes on March 4, then air for 3 consecutive Sundays at 8:30 and 9:30 PM. Finally, The Wedding Bells premieres March 9; there will be a post-Idol sneak peek on March 7.

Scrubs (9PM, NBC)
It is a universally acknowledged truth that all musicians want to act, and all actors want to sing. Guess the grass is always greener on the other side. 'Scrubs' is staging a musical episode tonight, with songs written by the composers of the hit Broadway show 'Avenue Q' (the one with the dirty puppets). Nothing can top the 'Buffy' musical episode, but Zach Braff and cast sure have fun trying.

Watch TV Squad's sneak peek of the episode.

If you really sat down and looked at the numbers, you could probably count on one hand the number of successful live-action situation comedies FOX has had on its schedule over the last twenty years. Of course there were the three-camera, live audience sitcoms Married. . .with Children and That 70's Show as well as the single-camera comedies The Bernie Mac Show and Malcolm in the Middle. Also add the critically acclaimed Arrested Development to that mix, even though it was canceled after three seasons.

Yet, no matter how many unsuccessful comedies they have put on the air, the network brass still continues to try and find the right combination of talent and writing to give one of them a multiple season run. The brass is going to have to go back to the drawing board, because Happy Hour (premiering Thursday at 8:30 ET) does not have the right combination. In fact, I'm not too sure if it has a combination at all.

It's time to fire up the TV Squad polls again and see what our fine readers are thinking. We know not all of you are keen on leaving us comments, so why not let you easily submit to a poll?

This time we're focusing on the new shows FOX has up their sleeves for this fall. Got any you're looking forward to in particular? Rather than have you choose your favorite of the bunch, we'll let you pick as many as you like. We'll update this post with the poll results in about a week, so check back then.