Fall Lineup Frenzy 2006 Part I: NBC

Upfront Week, the week where the primetime networks reveal their new fall lineups and sell advertising for the season, has come and gone. Now, as the 2005-2006 season comes to a close, it’s time to get hyped over the new season of shows to come.

This is the first of a series of posts where I will analyze and give my thoughts on the 2006-2007 schedules of the major broadcast networks: NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, as well as the new network The CW. I will also give my very early impressions of their new shows.

First up is NBC. This is a network that has struggled over the past couple of years as some of its popular, high-rated shows have ended. Last season saw the end of the groundbreaking comedy Will And Grace and the critically acclaimed political drama The West Wing. However, last season also saw a successful new comedy in My Name Is Earl and NBC's first successful game show since The Weakest Link in Deal Or No Deal. With NFL football coming this fall, NBC may be poised for a "comeback."

(All times shown are Eastern. New shows are in bold.)

Monday

8-9 p.m.: Deal or No Deal
9-10 p.m.: Heroes
10-11 p.m.: Medium

From NBC's Press Release:

"HEROES"—The epic drama "Heroes" chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. As a total eclipse casts it shadow across the globe, viewers follow a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, "Blind Guy Driving") in India whose father's disappearance leads him to uncover a secret theory—there are people with super powers living among us. A young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, "The Bedford Diaries") tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, "Judging Amy") that he can fly. A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, "Ice Princess") learns that she is totally indestructible. A Las Vegas stripper (Ali Larter, "Final Destination"), struggling to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, "My Wife & Kids"), uncovers that her mirror image has a secret. A prison inmate (Leonard Roberts, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") mysteriously finds himself waking up outside of his cell. A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, "Empire"), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and the relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, "Third Watch"), can paint the future. A down-on-his-luck beat cop (Greg Grunberg, "Alias") can hear people's thoughts, including the secrets of a captured terrorist. In Japan, a young man (Masi Oka, "Scrubs") develops a way to stop time through sheer will power. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world. "Heroes" is executive produced by creator/writer Tim Kring ("Crossing Jordan), Dennis Hammer ("Crossing Jordan") and David Semel ("House"), who also directed the pilot. The drama is from NBC Universal Television Studio.

My Thoughts: This night seems to be pretty solid. NBC has learned from the mistakes ABC made with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and is only scheduling Deal Or No Deal twice a week. Medium seems to do pretty well in its timeslot so it makes sense to keep it there. However, I'm very intrigued by the new show on this night, Heroes. It reminds me a lot of the comic book Rising Stars by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. It looks great on paper and it could draw a younger audience to NBC. However, execution is going to be key especially since it's more of an ensemble show than something like Smallville.

Article Author: Sterfish

From music to manga and television to comics, Sterfish enjoys it all. He's older than you think and younger than you expect.

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