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.