This is a precarious time for fans of TV shows. Networks prepare their mid-season adjustments. Cancellation rumors float around; most (but not all) end up being true.
Here are a few of my comments; please add yours:
1) ABC is apparently giving up on "Pushing Daisies," "Eli Stone" and "Dirty Sexy Money"; of the scripted shows that were wobbling, only "Life on Mars" will survive. I never warmed up to "Dirty Sexy Money," which gave us no one to care about. The others, however, represent a time when the network took bold chances in style and theme. I'll hate to see them go -- especially "Daisies," which is brilliantly filmed and written, but maybe a tad too precious for the audience.
2) By comparison, is anyone mourning the CW Sunday shows? Did anyone see them? Why would a network slip shows on the air, undetected. Is this some sort of stealth strategy we don't understand? For whatever reason, "Valentine," "Easy Money" and "In Harm's Way" lived and died in obscurity.
3) Tim Busfield of East Lansing brought some visual zest to "Lipstick Jungle" as its principal director. That wasn't enough to save a show that was soapy without being fun. And I never did understand why Victory was so mad at her billionaire boyfriend.
4) Besides "Lipstick Jungle," NBC is giving up on "Own Worst Enemy." Still, I'm delighted that "Chuck" is surviving. NBC, which can't be picky, also is keeping "Knight Rider" and "Kath & Kim."
5) NBC's plan is elaborate: It will rest "Chuck" and "Heroes" in January, at the same time that it loses its Sunday football games. That means vacancies on Sundays AND Mondays. It will fill them with a mish-mash of things, ranging from reality shows to the Golden Globes, from "Saturday Night Live" specials to a fantasy miniseries ("The Last Templar"). The scrambling period ends with the Super Bowl on Feb. 1. Some of this sounds awful, but let's wait. One of the shows is a short-term dance competition from the people who do great work on the summertime "So You Think You Can Dance."
6) And maybe the best news is that "Friday Night Lights" will be back to network TV, beginning Jan. 16 on NBC. Viewers deserve some good, scripted shows, you know.
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