2006 Upfronts: Part III

Here’s the CBS fall schedule. Frankly, I wasn’t reviewing anything on this network anyway, so anything interesting was going to stand out. The real scheduling questions, for me, will be coming with FOX and CW tomorrow. The following is the schedule released by the network on 17 May 2006:

CBS TELEVISION NETWORK 2006-2007 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE (N=New, NT=New Time, all times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (NT)
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLASS (N)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM THE UNIT
10:00-11:00 PM SMITH (N)
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM JERICHO (N)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 PM SHARK (N)
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 PM CLOSE TO HOME
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS
SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS: MYSTERY
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE (NT)
9:00-10:00 PM COLD CASE (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM WITHOUT A TRACE (NT)

MONDAYS

We enjoy “How I Met Your Mother”, if only because a saucy Alyson Hannigan is a joy to behold, and the cast is excellent. Mondays remain a FOX/NBC bastion for me, though…this is pure TiVo fare. “The Class” might be something worth a look as well.

TUESDAYS

“NCIS” and “The Unit” are guilty TiVo pleasures. I like to accumulate several episodes at a time and just enjoy the chance to watch something with character that doesn’t beg for in-depth discussion. I’ve been a faithful “NCIS” fan, ever since seeing a pre-premiere pic of Abby, my brainy goth dreamgirl, and “The Unit” has Robert Patrick. Good brain candy!

WEDNESDAYS

“Jericho” has promise, and since Tuesdays are my post-Monday catch-up night for the reviewed shows, something needs to mesh with “Lost”. This might be something I cover, and if I do, it will be podcast only, since I doubt it will last very long. Everything else is easy to dismiss.

THURSDAYS

“Survivor” is a guilty pleasure for the other half, but I stay as far away from “CSI” as I can get.

FRIDAYS/SATURDAYS/SUNDAYS

“Close to Home” is TiVo fare for the other half. I actually like having “The Amazing Race” on Sundays, because like “West Wing” this past season, it fit a nice post-weekend niche in our viewing schedule.

So…for CBS, I’ll be following six shows to one degree or another, mostly to record and watch during off-sweeps periods, of which one will get commentary on the podcast, if it survives. That brings the grand total for 2006-2007 (including SFC shows) to 1 full written review, 6 capsule written reviews, and 2 podcast only:

Full reviews:
Lost

Capsule reviews:
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Battlestar: Galactica
Ghost Hunters
Studio 60 (new)
Heroes (new)

Podcast only:
Medium
Jericho (new)

So with the loss of “Alias”, “Invasion”, and “West Wing”, I’m still covering less than this past season. But there are the two big guns (FOX and CW) that comprise a large block of my time, so we’ll see how it pans out!