TVSquad

Last week, it was Men in Trees. Now the end has officially come for another ABC drama series. ABC has confirmed that October Road is over. The long and winding road is no more, so to speak. ABC has no room in the fall lineup, apparently, and a plan to move October Road and Men in Trees to Lifetime never panned out. So all the die-hard fans who've been writing the network and crafting petitions can give it up. No amount of peanuts or blood drives -- oh, wait, that was Jericho and Moonlight. The Roadies had a different tack; buy the DVD, donate it to a library to get more people watching and writing to ABC. Despite the sincere efforts, the network still chose to end the road and move on to a newer, different show.

The reverberations caused by the writers' strike continue to affect how the networks are doing business. Case in point: according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, the networks may be more generous with renewals than they have in the past, due to the fact that even hit shows have been returning to diminished ratings. My guess is that, after a three-month break, most people realized they didn't give two craps about things like Meredith and McDreamy's latest breakup. But it may just be that the weather's nice outside.

Anyway, Hibberd goes on to mention the current status of some of the most prominent "bubble" shows. The good news: Reaper, Old Christine, and HIMYM and Moonlight have shifted over towards the "likely to certain" end of the spectrum, and Boston Legal will likely survive for another year. The bad news: Shark, Men In Trees (which is already gone, according to reports), Cashmere Mafia, and October Road are likely gone. And there's still no real feel for what's going to happen with Eli Stone or Women's Murder Club.

I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. ABC has canceled Men in Trees. Despite being one of the genuinely sweet and funny comedy/dramas on the network -- one that's more rooted in reality than flights of whimsy and pretentiousness -- Men in Trees has struggled to find a home on ABC. It's been shuttled about from day to day, time slot to time slot, in and out of the line up so that it became a gypsy. How were you as a viewer to invest in the romantic adventure that Marin Frist was on in the wilds of Alaska when you weren't sure when the dang show was going to air? A failed attempt to put the show on Lifetime back in March spelled doom for the show.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Men in Trees.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal at 8, then a new Law and Order.
• FOX has a new 'Til Death at 8, followed by new episodes of Back To You and American Idol.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, then the season finale of Pussycat Dolls.
• PBS has a new Secrets of the Dead and a new National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• Travel Channel has two new episodes of John Ratzenberger's Made in America at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of Taylor Perry's House of Payne.
• Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new episode of The Real World.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• TLC has a Little People, Big World marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has a Democratic Presidential Debate from Pennsylvania, followed by a new Men In Trees.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8.
• FOX has new episodes of 'Til Death, Back To You, and American Idol.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then a new Pussycat Dolls.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters.
• Spike has a new UFC Unleashed at 9, followed by a new Ultimate Fighter.
• Also at 9: Travel Channel has two new episodes of John Ratzenberger's Made in America.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, MTV has the season premiere of The Real World: Hollywood.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
• Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• TCM has Buster Keaton in The General at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Men in Trees.
• CBS has a new Big Brother 9 at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8.
• FOX has the season finale of Moment of Truth at 8, then a new American Idol.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters, then a new Destination Truth.
• Travel Channel has two new episodes of John Ratzenberger's Made in America starting at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
• Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, followed by a new Lewis Black's Root of All Evil.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• Also at 10, MTV has a Real World reunion show, The Real World Awards Bash.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I bet you thought Women's Murder Club was gone for good (if you were even thinking about it, that is). Nope, it's coming back.

The Angie Harmon drama series about a group of women in San Francisco who solve crimes is coming back to the ABC schedule on Tuesday, April 29, at 10pm. I know, you're thinking, wait a second, that's Boston Legal's time slot! Yup, it certainly is. That show is going to move to Wednesdays at 10pm starting the next day, April 30 (the show will run in its regular time slot when it returns from the strike hiatus on April 8 and then move to Wednesdays on the 30th).

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap.
• FOX has a new Moment of Truth at 8, followed by a new American Idol.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• There's a new Great Performances on PBS at 8, then a new Great Performances at the Met.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Deserving Design, followed by a new Design on a Dime.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9, then a new Destination Truth.
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 9:45, TCM has the 1932 version of The Most Dangerous Game.
• At 10, ABC has a new Men In Trees.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Taylor Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Lewis Black's Root of All Evil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

This is disheartening. ABC has been looking to Lifetime as a new home for Men in Trees and October Road. Both dramatic series have not as yet been picked up for next year, and now this report makes it clear they are both skating on thin ice. The powers that be at Lifetime were given copies of both shows to review and chose not to pick up either of them. They basically threw the ball back to ABC, forcing the network to decide the fate of these two shows.

There's going to be a new lady swinging down Wisteria Lane this spring. Entertainment Tonight reported that Justine Bateman has signed onto Desperate Housewives for a few episodes. The actress, who will forever be remembered for playing Alex P. Keaton -- Michael J. Fox's -- sister Mallory on Family Ties, will be playing "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos."

• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• ABC has a new Wife Swap at 8, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Men in Trees.
• FOX has new episodes of Moment of Truth and American Idol.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Rat Race, then Boeing, Boeing (both starring Tony Curtis).
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, NBC has a new Law and Order.
• Bravo has the season premiere of Top Chef at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• TV Land has a new High School Reunion at 10.
• Comedy Central has the season premiere of South Park at 10, then the series premiere of Lewis Black's Root of All Evil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new American Idol, then a new Moment of Truth.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• ABC has new episodes of Wife Swap, Supernanny, and Men in Trees.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model at 8 on The CW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, followed by a new Law and Order.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• Also at 9:30: HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Project Runway.
• STARZ has a new Head Case at 10, then a new Hollywood Residential.
• TV Land has the premiere of High School Reunion at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It was finally ABC's turn to unveil its winter schedule yesterday. There aren't many surprises in it except that Lost, as rumored, will now air on a new night and that Big Shots, who was benched last week, will get a fifth another chance. ABC's winter programming will also include the premieres of Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give and the return of a few reality series, such as Supernanny and Wife Swap, to fill the void left when scripted series will have aired all their new episodes.

• At 8, ABC has a new Men in Trees, then new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• There's a new Next Great American Band on FOX at 8, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
• Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by a new America's Psychic Challenge.
• HGTV has Decked For The Holidays at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new ep of The Soup.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Men In Trees, then new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas.
• FOX has a new Next Great American Band, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• There's a new NOW on PBS at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• AMC has Blazing Saddles at 8, then Psycho.
• Also at 8: Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
• Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by a new America's Psychic Challenge.
• Food Network has a "Deep Fried Thanksgiving" episode of Paula's Party at 9.
• At 10, Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis.
• E! has a new ep of The Soup at 10.
• At 11, VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever.

Check your local TV listings for more.