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« Roush Dispatch
A Quick Look at ABC
Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz, Pushing Daisies by Scott Garfield/ABC
Oh, the irony. While nearly everyone else in the TV biz is in New York this week for the upfronts, I'm in L.A. on assignment with the TV Guide Channel. A work conflict is keeping me from attending ABC's screening of the fall clips, but I did have the pleasure to get a sneak peek at what is sure to be one of my favorite shows of the new season: Pushing Daisies, perhaps the most instantly delightful pilot since Ugly Betty, and twice as fanciful. A wild pop-colored blend of comedy, fantasy and mystery, it's about a young man (the charming Lee Pace) whose touch can bring the dead back to life, and back to death just as quickly. What he does with this gift, and how it changes his life and those around him, is the gist of this series, which plays like the best Tim Burton fairy-tale fable ever. I've never seen anything quite like it, and I hope people find it in its somewhat challenging time period: Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET, launching an entirely new night that also includes the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice (hope it's better than the backdoor pilot episode) and the serial drama Dirty Sexy Money.
Some extremely preliminary thoughts on the lineup, night by night:
Monday: Playing it safe, with Dancing with the Stars launching a new sitcom (Sam I Am) followed by yet another round of The Bachelor.
Tuesday: Comedy-challenged ABC swings the bat again, building an entire show around the Geico Cavemen (a one-joke show reminiscent of The Munsters, only far less charming), paired with Carpoolers, and otherwise staying firm with the Dancing results show and Boston Legal.
Wednesday: Taking a big risk, leading the night with the enchanting but hard-to-pigeonhole Pushing Daisies. Private Practice would seem to be a slam-dunk, but it needs to be less annoying than what we saw on Grey's. Yet another edgy soap (Dirty Sexy Money) at 10 also seems a bit of a risk.
Thursday: Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy stay put (yay), followed by a new drama, Big Shots.
Friday: This means Men in Trees has been displaced (albeit with a stockpile of extra episodes thanks to this spring's surplus from the annoyingly long hiatus). It's back where it started on Fridays, kicking off the night and leading into the new mystery franchise Women's Murder Club and the venerable 20/20.
Saturday: Football.
Sunday: Nothing changes. Nothing should.
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May 15, 2007 12:43 PM
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I think the Wednesday lineup will be crucial for ABC this year, I think it is the most fragile night on TV. CBS usually wins but it's not being challenged. It helps that ABC has the two most talked about new shows and they decided to air them back-to-back. If ABC can take control of this night with all-new shows, this might be the year they finally surpass CBS.
The Monday and Tuesday lineups are just AWFUL. (outside of BL and maybe Sam I Am).
Can Sum1 please find out what happened to Footballer's Wives, if I were to choose 1 show that would have definitly made its way onto ABC's lineup it would've been FWs.
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May 15, 2007 12:55 PM
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Matt! What happened to Football Wives? Why is that missing from ABC's fall schedule after all the hype and the all-star cast?
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May 15, 2007 1:26 PM
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I so want to see Pushing Daises now! Even that picture up above looks awesome. What happened to the Mitch Hurwitz political comedy "The Thick of It"? I was so hoping that would be picked up.
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May 15, 2007 2:00 PM
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Sundays are only going to go down, but still fine.
DWTS is crap but it works. Interesting to keep The Bachelor there and not try and launch something else, besides Sam I Am.
Cavemen has been destroyed so far, but it's got good buzz. So why not.
3 new dramas on Wednesday? Oh my. Could an interesting battle come spring: Idol vs. Criminal Minds vs. Bionic Woman vs. Private Practice. Somethings gotta give.
New drama after Greys makes sense.
Men in Trees treated like garbage then gets pushed aside to Fridays? Interesting.
Lost will go where needed, anywhere anytime. Something won't work on that fall sked, and Lost will slide on in.
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May 15, 2007 3:07 PM
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Thanks for the run-down, Matt.
Wednesday night seems like a risk by putting three new shows back-to-back. Fortunately, they all sound interesting enough to check out, so maybe it will be a big win for ABC on that night. You never really know what America will respond to in any given tv season, you know?
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May 15, 2007 4:15 PM
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Oh, and I'm glad that Brothers & Sisters is staying put on Sundays at 10. I like it there.
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May 15, 2007 4:23 PM
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If ABC can take control of this night with all-new shows, this might be the year they finally surpass CBS.
Since when has premeiring 3 news shows back-to-back-to-back EVER worked? Only the Grey spin-off will survive.
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May 15, 2007 4:44 PM
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After looking at all the previews from all the networks my DVD player is going to get a workout this fall premiere season.
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May 15, 2007 6:54 PM
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Since when has premeiring 3 news shows back-to-back-to-back EVER worked? Only the Grey spin-off will survive.
Private Practice will no doubt survive but Pushing Daises has created more buzz than I can ever recall and it's only been out one day.
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May 15, 2007 8:29 PM
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I guess ABC now stands for Alias Broadcasting Company! Wow how many Alias alumni are now on ABC shows. Brothers & Sisters with Ron Rifkin, Patricia Wettig, and Balthazar Getty. Now Eli Stone with Victor Garber; Big Shots with Michael Vartan; and Private Pratice with Merrin Dungey. Whole lot of Alias Alumni makes for exciting tv!
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May 15, 2007 11:08 PM
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I just want to echo, where's "The Thick of It"?
How can a show by Mitch Hurwitz and Christopher Guest not be at least worth a pick-up? You're telling me the pilot wasn't as good as either "Cavemen" or "Carpoolers"? Are they scared that it's too much of a niche audience? Or did it just suck?
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May 15, 2007 11:23 PM
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Seriously when I heard about the Caveman show, I thought it was a joke. They are really serious? I wonder how long it will last....
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May 15, 2007 11:42 PM
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Eli Stone with Greg Berlanti at the helm and Victor Garber ..YAY .. Brothers and Sisters with Greg Berlanti at the helm and Rifkin, Wettig, Getty..and an Everwood fave as well.. YAY ... I heard that Greg Berlanti has another new show? Rumor? Also, Pushing
Daisies with Sylar's mom? ..how terrific is that?!?! 
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May 16, 2007 12:10 AM
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Can someone please tell me if one of my fave shows, What About Brian, has definitely been axed by ABC? No mention of it getting renewed... Thanks!
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May 16, 2007 2:29 AM
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