TVSquad

The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback.

Even more risky is NBC handing 10:00 to Jay Leno every night of the week. Everyone's waiting to see how that one plays out. FOX is banking on huge positive buzz for Glee to make it a hit, while ABC is hoping FlashForward can pick up where Lost is leaving off when it wraps its run this season.

To help you with it all, TV Squad has put together a handy calendar of all the premieres so you can schedule responsibly in this busy time of TV watching. Some nights have as many as twelve premieres scheduled, so you might need to invest in a few more DVRs to catch all your favorites; Monday's still look grim. Bookmark this page and you'll have it handy to help see you through.

Lots of news coming out of the Television Critics Association press tour, and a lot of it makes you think that NBC is either a.) filled with mad geniuses who are so ahead of the rest of us that we'll all look back in a few years and realize how prescient they were, or b.) they have no idea how to run a network.

The latest move that TV fans will be talking about is this: prime time entertainment chief Angela Bromstad says that Day One, the new drama from ex-Heroes producer Jesse Alexander, might only last one season and then be done.

Reading a quick description of Day One and seeing this behind the scenes footage, I think this might be NBC's version of Jericho. That's probably the show that this will be compared to, though this one looks more action-oriented. It's from ex-Heroes/Lost/Alias writer/producer Jesse Alexander, and it's about a group of people from an apartment complex in Van Nuys that have to band together when something mysterious happens to the planet.

There weren't a lot of surprises at NBC's "In Front" presentation this morning. As already leaked, Parks & Recreation, Heroes, and Southland have been renewed, joining the already announced 30 Rock, The Office, The Celebrity Apprentice, Friday Night Lights, The Biggest Loser and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

There's still no word on Law & Order's bid for a 20th season, nor did they clarify the fate of Chuck, though insiders feel confident both will be back. Back on the bubble is Medium, which was leaked as renewed last night, along with My Name Is Earl. Their fates are a bit more murky, especially Earl considering NBC is giving Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" a prime-time berth, apparently launching NBC's Thursday night.

For those of you attending Comic-Con in San Diego, my hat is off to you. After looking at the schedule for the opening day, Thursday, July 24th, it is a wonder that your eyes don't grow glassy and that vein on the side of your temple doesn't throb with all of the events listed for that day. For those of you not attending, you may be breathing a sigh of relief that you won't have to decide what to attend and what to miss.

Granted, we here at TV Squad are only going to Comic-Con to cover the television-related events. Still, there are quite a few of them going on Thursday, starting when the convention opens and ending as the next day creeps into the night. Panels cover the gamut: public television shows, show revivals, anniversary panels about shows that have been revived, and Robert Smigel. So, if you are going, bring some comfortable shoes, plenty of snacks, and a ton of questions.

If you are not going, but are still interested in seeing what's going on in San Diego, here is a list of TV-related events for the first day of the convention. If you are interested in the complete list of events you can go to Spout blog for Thursday's full Comic-Con schedule.

(S01E02) This could have quite easily been the first episode of Torchwood, so quickly was the viewer thrown into the action.

Chuck in some backflash references introducing our main characters; Captain Jack Harkness from the recent series Doctor Who, along with his team of Torchwood operatives, and our central character Gwen Cooper, the ex-cop who takes on the vacant position with a gang of supernatural alien hunters.

And we're done.

A two-hour special would probably have wrapped it all up nicely, but Russell T Davies decided to split things up, especially since this week's episode was more about setting up the adult theme of the entire series than giving viewers a decent run at the characters involved.