Upfrontin' - Fox shows what they're going to stall time with before "American Idol" starts

It's the last day of the upfronts, and the two youngest networks - Fox and The CW - announced their fall lineups. "Veronica Mars"-free. Ick. Also, "The War at Home"-free. Yay!

Here's what we've got from Fox:

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2007 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM PRISON BREAK
9:00-10:00 PM K-VILLE

"K-Ville" is about cops in post-Katrina New Orleans. Interesting, and I hope it shows to more people that New Orleans is still in bad shape, almost two years later.

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NEW AMSTERDAM
9:00-10:00 PM HOUSE

"New Amsterdam," other than being an Elvis Costello song, is about an immortal detective. Kind of like "Moonlight" on CBS, which is about a vampire detective. And you know, all of the other shows that have been like that.

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BACK TO YOU
8:30-9:00 PM 'TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM BONES

"Back To You" is sort of like "Anchorman" but on TV, and with Kelsey Grammer instead of Will Ferrell and Patricia Heaton instead of Christina Applegate. Still has Fred Willard, though. I'm actually sort of psyched for it. I have a sneaking suspicion it'll be bad, though.

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES

"Kitchen Nightmares" is a new reality show with Gordon Ramsay, a.k.a. the "Hell's Kitchen" dude, where he travels around the country helping u. Yes, this is a weird choice for a fall lineup. Seems very summer-y, or like something that should be on basic cable, given the many, many, cable shows that are exactly like this.

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN
BAND (working title)
9:00-10:00 PM NASHVILLE (working title)

"Great American Band" = "American Idol" with more people. "Nashville" is a "docu-soap," like "Laguna Beach" or (ugh) "Tuesday Night Book Club," about the music industry there. Sounds like a CMT show. Wow.

SATURDAY 8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11:00 PM-MIDNIGHT MADtv
MIDNIGHT-12:30 AM TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

No surprises here. On "The Howard Stern Show," Artie Lange had been talking about possibly getting a show post-"Spike Feresten," but apparently that's not (yet) the case.

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM KING OF THE HILL
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

Nothing new here, really, except no more "The War at Home" and "The Winner" being official toast (not surprising). "American Dad" just keeps going, man. Who could say why. And if you had bet me cash monies whenever "King of the Hill" started (I think I was in junior high), that it'd still be going on in 2007, I would owe you said cash monies.

Their midseason shows sound a lot more promising. "The Return of Jezebel James," starring the ever-effervescent Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose, is from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, and "The Rules of Starting Over" is of course the infamous show Karen on "The Office" (or Rashida Jones, as she is "really called") will be on - along with Craig Bierko, he's always entertaining. Plus, Julianna Margulies is on Yet Another Legal Drama called "Canterbury's Law."

Then there's "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," because what TV needs more of is shows based on characters from 23-year-old sci-fi franchises. I can't wait for the "Johnny 5 Chronicles"!

Next up - The CW.

"Veronica Mars" watch - Day 866

Damn.

If the Suns lose Friday this is the worst week ever.

If you need me, I’ll be on my roof.

More thoughts to come. Right now it's just too soon.

On the bright side, Kristen Bell is the narrator for the new CW show "Gossip Girl." Who needs to watch her on a great show where you can hear her disembodied voice in a show based on a series of young adult novels called "Gossip Girl"? P.S. the answer is me. Sigh.

Wednesday weepings

"American Idol" - Blake in the finals? Exsqueeze me? I baking powder? This guy isn't even lame in the fun, goofy, Taylor Hicks way, he's just totally lame. That video package of him heading back home to the Puget Sound area was INTOLERABLE. I always thought Seattle seemed like a cool place to live but now I'm strongly questioning that. At one point Jordin seemed like a clear favorite, but this dork obviously has a lot of support. At this point, the finals are simply - much like the 2000 presidential election - too close to call.

Melinda really was great, but she never had the starpower to win the whole thing. But seeing Blake get further than her really sucks.

"America's Next Top Model" - I haven't watched this all season, but turned in to it enough to see that "Jaslene" won. Um...yay?

"Lost" - Not much to weep about here. Another awesome episode. This show is on a roll like no other. Obviously Charlie wasn't going to drown (they're not going to tell us he's going to drown and then actually have him drown - that's just not the "Lost" way) but watching him go down there was excruciating - and then - he's OK! And then - a bunch of babes with guns are about to shoot him! And then - end of episode! Ack. His unnecessary paddle smack to the head of Desmond was also pretty great. One wonder if this means a Juliet triple cross.

Phoenix Suns game - UGH. Gave me as many ulcers as this whole "fate of 'Veronica mars'" thing. Speaking of which, watch this space for more news on that very soon. But man, I hate the Spurs. Seriously, I do not like those guys at all.