Network television has found huge success in the past year with nontraditional programming — from the quiz-show sensation "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" to the even more popular reality/adventure/competition phenomenon "Survivor." And the consensus among network programmers is that the American public is looking for something other than a steady diet of dramas and sitcoms.
So, of course, the 2000 fall season is populated entirely with . . . dramas and sitcoms.
Go figure.
Actually, each of the networks has "Survivor"-inspired reality programming in development as midseason replacements. (And "Survivor" itself will return for a second season in January.)
But, with the exception of a fourth weekly edition of "Millionaire," the 31 new programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB are . . . dramas and sitcoms.
Not that that's an entirely negative thing. With TV shows, it's all in the execution, and a well-made hour or half hour, no matter how traditional, can be a treat. And there are several of those coming our way, including "Ed," "The Gilmore Girls," "That's Life" and, possibly, series like "Bette" and "The Fugitive" (a show that just might prove that even an old idea can be a good one if it's handled properly).
But don't be fooled — overall, this year's freshman class on network TV isn't a strong one. There are far more misses than there are hits. Here's a look at what to expect:
THE BEST
ED (Sundays, 7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5) is the sort of show that almost defies description — it's sweet, it's funny, it's charming, it's wonderful. It comes to us from the folks at David Letterman's Worldwide Pants, and they've cooked up a gem. Ed (Tom Cavanagh) is a nice guy who, in one fell swoop, loses his job at a high-powered law firm and his wife. So he quits New York City to return to his small hometown of Stuckeyville, Ohio, and — on impulse — buys the local bowling alley. Which soon becomes a combination bowling alley/law office. Oh, and he begins to pursue the most popular girl from high school (Julie Bowen). "Ed" is sort of "Northern Exposure"-esque, populated by offbeat characters who are lovably weird. It's thoroughly enjoyable.
The outlook: NBC is going to have to have patience with this show — not only is it in a tough time slot, but its quirkiness makes it a bit of a tough sell. Word-of-mouth should be good, but the network has to leave it on long enough for people to see it and start talking about it.
Debut date: Sunday, Oct. 8
GILMORE GIRLS (Thursdays, 7 p.m., WB/Ch. 30): Another quirky show that will grow on you. Lauren Graham stars as Loralai Gilmore, the 32-year-old single mother of 16-year-old Rory (Alexis Bledel). Loralai has made a life for herself — she's the successful manager of a successful inn — and hasn't had much to do with her old-money parents (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann). But when Rory gets accepted to a prestigious (and expensive) prep school, Loralai has to turn to her parents for help. Her rather difficult mother agrees, with a catch — Loralai has to let her parents back into her life. There are also echoes of "Northern Exposure" here in the quirky townsfolk, and it's an altogether winning hour of television.
The outlook: Talk about tough time slots. Fortunately, the WB has a history of patience with deserving shows. Hopefully, the network will have lots of patience with this one.
Debut date: Thursday, Oct. 5
THAT'S LIFE (Saturdays, 7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): This hourlong dramatic comedy (or is that comedic drama) is sort of "Working Girl" crossed with "Providence." Heather Paige Kent is great as a 30ish New Jersey gal from a blue-collar background who suddenly decides not to marry her steady (if rather dumb and boring) fiance because he doesn't support her dream — she wants to get a college degree. The supporting cast includes Ellen Burstyn and Paul Sorvino as her parents, and, while you almost couldn't ask for more than that, "That's Life" provides its ensemble with witty writing. It's a winner.
The outlook: Viewership levels are lower on Saturday nights, and so are expectations. Whether the people who might be interested in this show are going to be around to watch it is the big question.
Debut date: Previews Sunday, Oct. 1; premieres Saturday, Oct. 7
LOOKING GOOD
BETTE (Wednesdays, 7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Bette Midler comes to TV playing a fictionalized version of herself — she's the Divine Miss M, complete with a husband (Kevin Dunn) and a teenage daughter. She's also outrageous — the pilot episode is full of very funny physical comedy, witty show-biz inside jokes and the sort of sheer outrageousness that gives it more energy than six of your average sitcom episodes. It's the best comedy pilot of the season. Having said all that, why the hesitation in declaring it a surefire hit? Well, the concern is that "Bette" won't be able to sustain the sort of energy it had in the pilot. At the very least, it will be a tough task.
The outlook: This isn't an easy time slot up against "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The energy evident in the pilot will have to be maintained in order for this to become the hit so many expect it to be.
Debut date: Wednesday, Oct. 11
THE FUGITIVE (Fridays, 7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Well, even if only the pilot succeeds, this would have to be a three-hit wonder — "The Fugitive" already was a popular series back in the '60s and a successful 1995 movie. This new show is very much a remake of both earlier incarnations, with Tim Daly ("Wings") starring as Dr. Richard Kimble, the man wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. He escapes from custody and goes in pursuit of the real killer — the one-armed man. And Mykelti Williamson co-stars as the lawman who's in pursuit of Kimble. The two-hour pilot is excellent, but the fact that the producers poured so much money into it (reportedly as much as $8 million, which is more than three times the per-hour cost of a weekly drama) makes you wonder whether the quality can be maintained in future episodes.
The outlook: There's reason for hope here — again, the pilot is very good and the premise holds up well. And the scheduling is relatively favorable.
Debut date: Friday. Oct. 6
ABOVE AVERAGE
DEADLINE (Mondays, 8 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): I won't tell you that this show about a New York newspaper columnist/journalism professor bears only slight resemblance to reality — you don't care and it really doesn't matter. The producers of "Law & Order" have turned out another watchable drama with a great cast. Oliver Platt stars as the aforementioned columnist, who's abrasive, opinionated and often obnoxious and who involves his boss (Bebe Neuwirth of "Frasier"), his ex-wife (Hope Davis) and his students in his crusades, which include freeing wrongly convicted murderers and exposing a mayoral candidate's past in the first couple of episodes. The cast also includes Lili Taylor as the gossip columnist and Tom Conti as the publisher.
The outlook: Yikes, talk about tough time slots — all this show has to contend with is "Monday Night Football," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Ally McBeal." It's counter-programming to all of those shows, but there may not be enough viewers left.
Debut date: Monday, Oct. 2
NIGHT VISIONS (Fridays, 8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): This is an attempt to re-create "The Twilight Zone" — an anthology series featuring weird, mysterious and/or macabre tales. The one story screened for critics was appropriately intriguing, with the requisite surprising plot twist, and the show was handsomely produced.
The outlook: There's obviously a serious question as to whether every story in "Night Visions" — and two are planned for each hourlong airing — will hold up creatively. Add to that the fact that no anthology series has been a hit on network television since, well, "The Twilight Zone," and this is a very iffy proposition indeed.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 6
FAIR TO MIDDLIN'
DAG (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): David Alan Grier ("In Living Color") stars as a demoted Secret Service agent who, instead of protecting the president, is assigned to guard the first lady — played by Delta Burke ("Designing Women"). You can pretty much picture it already, can't you? Grier and Burke are both pretty good — they're certainly well-suited to their roles — but the writing is pedestrian and predictable.
The outlook: This show's best hope is that enough viewers will tune in to "Frasier" at 8 p.m. and then stick around for "DAG" at 8:30 p.m.
Debut date: Tuesday, Oct. 31
GIDEON'S CROSSING (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Andre Braugher, who proved himself to be one of TV's finest actors on "Homicide: Life On the Street," headlines this oh-so-serious medical drama. He plays Dr. Benjamin Gideon, a dedicated doctor who is also responsible for teaching medical students and interns how to be dedicated doctors themselves. This is certainly the season's most earnest, serious new drama. But that's also the show's problem — it's so unremittingly earnest, it's off-putting.
The outlook: Maybe if it can lighten up a bit (and survive the onslaught of "Law & Order") it can succeed. But the prognosis is far from optimistic.
Debut date: Previews Tuesday, Oct. 10; premieres Wednesday, Oct. 18
THE DISTRICT (Saturdays, 9 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Craig T. Nelson stars as the outspoken, sometimes outrageous new police commissioner of Washington, D.C., in this rather predictable crime drama that nonetheless has possibilities. Producers have toned down, but not eliminated, the pilot's biggest flaw — the impression that the white knight rides in to save the poor, benighted black folks — and have replaced the original, Marion Barry-esque mayor with a much stronger character, played by John Amos.
The outlook: The bad news is that network viewership levels are low on Saturday nights. The good news is that "The District" will air right after Saturday's strongest show, "Walker, Texas Ranger."
Debut date: Saturday, Oct. 7
MADIGAN MEN (Fridays, 8:30 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Gabriel Byrne tries his hand at TV comedy, playing a recently divorced New Yorker who re-enters the dating world at the same time his teenage son (John C. Hensley) is diving in for the first time. And then his cantankerous, widowed father (Ray Dotrice of "Beauty and the Beast") arrives from Ireland dispensing unasked for advice. It's all quite predictable, but a good cast makes this at least watchable.
The outlook: This show needs a good lead-in from the monstrously mediocre "Norm" — not exactly the ideal situation to be in.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 6
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
TITANS (Wednesdays, 7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): By any measurement, this new prime-time soap opera from Aaron Spelling ("Melrose Place," "Dynasty") is cheesy, ridiculous, badly acted and outrageously written. But, at least in the pilot, it's also a ton of fun to watch. It is, however, the sort of show you laugh at, not with. (Come on — the family patriarch and matriarch, played by Perry King and Victoria Principal, live in mansions across the street from each other.) The show features gorgeous actors (including Casper Van Dien and Yasmine Bleeth) whose characters live in Beverly Hills, drive great cars and just ooze money as they go about their various trials and tribulations.
The outlook: When a show starts out as outrageous as this one, it stands a good chance of degenerating into total crap before long. After all, "Melrose Place" was stupid fun for a while before it just became stupid.
Debut date: Wednesday, Oct. 4
LONG SHOTS
DARK ANGEL (Tuesdays, 8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): It's always a little bit iffy when a show's producer is more famous than its stars. That's the case here, as James Cameron ("Terminator," "Titanic") takes a stab at series TV. Jessica Alba plays the title role, a genetically enhanced young woman living in a post-apocalyptic near future where she has to beat up the bad guys while helping the good guys. And there are "X-Files"-esque conspiracies and mysteries to deal with. The two-hour pilot isn't bad — although it starts to drag long before it's over — and it seems unlikely the premise can hold up for long.
The outlook: No matter what the ratings, this one will be around for a while — Fox gave Cameron a 22-episode commitment.
Debut date: Tuesday, Oct. 3
FREAKYLINKS (Fridays, 7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): Ethan Embry stars as sort of the Fox Mulder of the Internet — he's a cybergeek who tries to explain unexplained phenomena — all of which he publishes on his own Web site, of course. And, in another ode to (or is that rip-off of?) "X-Files," he's trying to find out what happened to his brother, who's dead — or is he? The pilot is fairly interesting before getting annoyingly mysterious. A few answers would've turned this into a nice little TV movie.
The outlook: Who knows? The executive producer who wrote the pilot episode has quit, as have the show's creators — the team behind "The Blair Witch Project." That's not a good sign. Fox wants to turn the show into something lighter and less intimidating — not necessarily a bad idea but one that means the network bought the show and then essentially chose to completely revamp it.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 6
GROSSE POINT (Fridays, 7:30 p.m., WB/Ch. 30): Producer Darren Star, whose creations include "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place," mocks his own genre with this half-hour sitcom about the stars of "Grosse Point," a high-school drama that looks suspiciously like "90210." It's certainly an area ripe for comedy, and the show demonstrates some wit — but it's more likely to evoke a wry smile than a laugh. And there's serious doubt about how long the premise can hold up.
The outlook: This show seems particularly unsuited as a companion to its lead-in, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," which moves from ABC to the WB this season. That's going to make a tough sell even tougher.
Debut date: Premiered Sept. 22.
PRETTY BAD
THE MICHAEL RICHARDS SHOW (Tuesday, 7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Richards reworks his Kramer character from "Seinfeld," making him a bumbling private detective. The original pilot was so bad the network refused to show it to critics, and the reworked concept — more of an ensemble comedy with the likes of William Devane and Tim Meadows added to the cast — isn't good. About the best thing you can say about this show is that it isn't totally annoying — just mostly annoying. And it isn't funny, a definite drawback for a comedy.
The outlook: A lot of people are going to be tuning in expecting this to be the second coming of "Seinfeld." Those expectations alone could doom this show.
Debut date: Tuesday, Oct. 24.
NIKKI (Sundays, 8:30 p.m., WB/Ch. 30): Nikki Cox ("Unhappily Ever After," "Norm") stars as a Las Vegas showgirl who marries an aspiring professional wrestler (Nick von Esmarch) in a show that features weekly musical production numbers as well as Nikki battling with her new mother-in-law. Really — I am not making any of this up. It shouldn't come as any great surprise that this is a fairly moronic show, although Cox — and particularly newcomer von Esmarch — do have a certain audience appeal.
The outlook: The WB has yet to develop a breakout comedy. Doesn't look like this is it, either.
Debut date: Sunday, Oct. 8.
TUCKER (Mondays, 7:30 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): This is a "Malcolm In the Middle" rip-off that often confuses vulgarity with humor. (The pilot episode spends the first several minutes trying to draw laughs out of its 14-year-old title character's inadvertent, um, state of arousal.) Eli Marienthal ("American Pie") is quite appealing as Tucker, who, along with his newly divorced mother (Noelle Beck), moves in with his witchy aunt (Katey Sagal of "Married . . . With Children"), oafish cousin and sympathetic uncle. The pilot has some sweet moments that are very likable indeed, but they're jarringly out of sync with the tackiness.
The outlook: NBC is, frankly, doomed on Monday nights with a lineup that starts out with "Daddio" before moving on to "Tucker."
Debut date: Monday, Oct. 2.
THE TROUBLE WITH NORMAL (Fridays, 7:30 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): This isn't the worst new show of the year, but it is the worst title. John Cryer and David Krumholtz star in this sitcom as two annoying, paranoid New Yorkers who live next door to one another and share a therapist (Paget Brewster), who presides over a therapy group that features several more annoying, paranoid people.
The outlook: Not good. Another candidate for quick cancellation.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 6.
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): This show, also from David Letterman's Worldwide Pants productions, has the strangest genesis of anything this season. The original concept followed mild-mannered Indiana weatherman Jim Gaffigan (a standup comedian more or less playing himself) who experiences culture shock when he's hired to do the weather on a network morning show, like "Today" or "Good Morning America." But then Christine Baranski ("Cybill"), who had a development deal with CBS, decided she wanted to be part of the show and inserted herself as the show's other star and executive producer. (She plays the e.p. of the fictional show-within-a-show.) The problem is that it's just not funny. And even the addition of Sara Gilbert ("Roseanne") to the cast probably can't save this one.
The outlook: Even if "Bette" turns out to be a huge hit, this show can't survive without some major improvements.
Debut date: Wednesday, Oct. 11.
LEVEL 9 (Fridays, 7 p.m., UPN/Ch. 14): Producer John Sacret Young ("China Beach") mixes traditional action/crime drama with the Internet and conspiracy theories. A tough street cop (Max Martini) somewhat reluctantly joins a super-secret government agency that tackles cyber-crime in a show that attempts to mix butt-kicking with brains. It's not a particularly successful blend.
The outlook: UPN isn't going to do much in the way of ratings with this show, but then it doesn't do much in the way of ratings with anything other than wrestling.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 27.
CSI (Fridays, 8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): That stands for Crime Scene Investigators — a team of forensics specialists in Las Vegas who use their strange expertise to solve crimes. Marg Helgenberger ("China Beach") and William Peterson star as our strong-stomached heroes, and the squeamish will want to stay away — the pictures can be fairly gross for network TV (although, at least in the pilot, it's no worse than PG-rated), but the descriptions alone are enough to make you sick. Other than that, this is a fairly routine crime drama.
The outlook: Not great. This show may get a boost from "The Fugitive," but, on the other hand, it may suffer from comparisons to the show that precedes it.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 6.
UNBELIEVABLY BAD
GIRLFRIENDS (Mondays, 8:30 p.m., UPN/Ch. 14): There are just so many reasons to hate this show — the single worst new show of the fall season. First, it's a total rip-off of "Sex and the City," only instead of four white women sitting around talking about (and acting on) their sexual urges, it's four black women sitting around talking about (and acting on) their sexual urges. Second, it's vulgar beyond belief. And, third, it's not in the least bit funny. Three strikes and you're out.
The outlook: Add this one to UPN's ever-growing trash heap of bad sitcoms. (And trash is an appropriate word.)
Debut date: Premiered Sept. 11.
HYPE (Sundays, 7 p.m., WB/Ch. 30): This sketch-comedy show from the producers of "MAD TV" is unremittingly crude and vulgar and only very occasionally humorous. The pilot episode features only one laugh, and it's for a joke about bodily functions. Some of the members of the enormous cast are great mimics, but the material is wretched.
The outlook: Dismal, both in terms of quality and in terms of ratings.
Debut date: Sunday, Oct. 8.
YES, DEAR (Mondays, 7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Is built around two guys with four failed sitcoms between them. Anthony Clark ("Boston Common," "Soul Man") stars as an uptight new father (who's married to an even more uptight new mother, played by Jean Louisa Kelly). He's often at odds with his laid-back, laissez-faire brother-in-law (Mike O'Malley of "Life with Roger" and "The Mike O'Malley Show," which was canceled by NBC last fall after airing once). There's one funny sight gag in the pilot; the rest of the show is sheer dreck.
The outlook: This show is one of the favorites in the annual what-will-be-the-first-show-canceled derby. It's not for nothing that CBS suddenly decided to order 13 episodes of "Ladies Man," the show that occupied this time slot last year — and a show the network had canceled this past spring.
Debut date: Monday, Oct. 2
THE $TREET (Wednesday, 8 p.m., Fox/Ch.. 13): Darren Star, the creator of shows like "Melrose Place" and "Sex and the City," sets out here to prove that Wall Street isn't about money, it's about sex. This is a glitzy, vapid, boring, insultingly stupid soap opera about gorgeous twentysomethings who spend the few moments they're not spending in bed trying to make oodles of money. Ick.
The outlook: It would be easy to say this show won't succeed — but that would be ignoring Fox's success with other glitzy, vapid, boring, insultingly stupid soap operas like "Melrose" and "Beverly Hills, 90210."
Debut date: Wednesday, Nov. 1.
CURSED (Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): In what may be the season's most appropriately titled show, Steven Weber ("Wings") stars as a successful young executive whose life takes a serious turn for the worse when a Gypsy he goes on a blind date with puts a curse on him. (Really. I am not making this up.) Not only is it weird, but it's a comedy without laughs.
The outlook: It's a great time slot — between "Friends" and "Will & Grace" but a lot of shows have failed here. There may be some hope, however — the show's original executive producer has been dumped, and a former "Friends" show-runner has been brought aboard to try and salvage this ship.
Debut date: Thursday, Oct. 26.
THE GEENA DAVIS SHOW (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Davis stars as a career woman who falls in love with and gets engaged to a widower (Peter Horton of "thirtysomething") and almost instantly moves in with him and his two children — a preteen daughter and a teenage son. (Hmmm . . . this is ABC's idea of a family show, complete with lots of sexual innuendo and Davis prancing around in next to nothing.) Davis, who only thinks she's a comedian, chews the scenery, while Horton blends into the background in this formulaic sitcom.
The outlook: If life were fair, this wouldn't last long. But airing after "Dharma & Greg" could turn this undeserving half hour into at least a moderate success.
Debut date: Tuesday, Oct. 10.
BOSTON PUBLIC (Mondays, 7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): If you need more evidence that the well has finally run dry for writer/producer David E. Kelley ("Ally McBeal," "The Practice"), look no further. This ensemble drama set in a public high school and told from the point of view of the teachers is ludicrous (in the pilot, a teacher fires a gun in a classroom with no repercussions to speak of), exploitative (said teacher is having an affair with a student) and, most damningly, just plain dull. A good cast, which includes Chi McBride, Fyvush Finkel, Sharon Leal and Loretta Devine, is wasted. Kelley is promising to revise the pilot . . . but that should be about as easy as reviving a corpse.
The outlook: Not only will this show sink, it's going to hurt the flagging ratings of Kelley's other Fox show, "Ally McBeal," which follows it.
Debut date: Monday, Oct. 23.
UNKNOWN QUANTITIES
NORMAL, OHIO (Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., Ch. 13): John Goodman ("Roseanne") stars as a divorced, gay father who moves back to his hometown (Normal, Ohio, of course) to try to rebuild a relationship with his children. Oh, and he's got an ex-wife who still has feelings for him. The concept has undergone massive changes since the original pilot, which was so bad the producers and Fox wouldn't show it to critics — and, again, that's a terrible sign.
The outlook: As if this show needed any more problems, Fox doesn't really have a show to precede it on its Wednesday-night schedule and will shuffle reruns of various other half-hour comedies in the 7 p.m. time slot until sometime next year.
Debut date: Wednesday, Nov. 1.
FREEDOM (Fridays, 8 p.m., UPN/Ch. 14): Movie-producer Joel Silver ("The Matrix") is behind this action series set in near-future America, where a military coup has put bad guys in charge and four "freedom fighters" run around using martial arts skills to fight for truth, justice and the American way. The few clips UPN has shown critics looked violent and stupid . . . but we'll reserve final judgment.
The outlook: UPN isn't going to do much in the way of ratings with this show, but then it doesn't do much in the way of ratings with anything other than wrestling.
Debut date: Friday, Oct. 27.