Post a Comment On: I Am A Child Of Television

CBS today announced their Fall 2005 lineup and the shows that have been cancelled. (List and grid originally provided by The Futon Critic)

Cancelled: Center of the Universe, Clubhouse, Dr. Vegas, Wickedly Perfect, The Will (all cancelled long ago) 60 Minutes Wednesday, J.A.G., Joan Of Arcadia, Judging Amy, Listen Up, . In addition Everybody Loves Raymond ended this season.

Retained: CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Amazing Race, CSI: New York, Survivor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Without A Trace, Numb3rs, Crimetime in Primetime, 48 Hours Mysteries, 60 Minutes, Cold Case, CBS Sunday Movie

Moved: The King Of Queens, Two And A Half Men, Still Standing, Yes, Dear

New: How I Met Your Mother, Out Of Practice, Close To Home, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, Threshold

Complete Schedule in Capitals (Except for NCIS)

Monday
8:00-8:30 PM The King Of Queens (New Day and Time)
8:30-9:00 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
9:00-9:30 PM Two And A Half Men (New Time)
9:30-10:00 PM OUT OF PRACTICE
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: Miami

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM The Amazing Race
10:00-11:00 PM CLOSE TO HOME

Wednesday
8:00-8:30 PM Still Standing (New Day and Time)
8:30-9:00 PM Yes, Dear (New Time)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: New York

Thursday
8:00-9:00 PM Survivor
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10:00-11:00 PM Without A Trace

Friday
8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 PM THRESHOLD
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 Cold Case
9:00-11:00 PM CBS Sunday Movie

In addition CBS has one comedy and one drama ready for midseason.

Here are some summaries of the new CBS series. Complete summaries can be found at The Futon Critic site:

How I Met Your Mother is described as a comedy about "how Ted fell in love". Ted decides that he needs to find true love when his best friend announces that he's marrying his longtime girlfriend. The story is told through a series of flashbacks from the future and Bob Saget serves as narrator. Cast includes Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan.

Out Of Practice is an ensemble comedy about a family of doctors who share the same profession but little else, and tend to look down at one son who has a PhD (in family counselling) rather than an MD. Christopher Gorham stars and the cast includes Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler.

Close To Home Jennifer Finnigan plays a young prosecutor who has just returned to work after having her first child who tries cases in her suburban community. Christian Kane (Angel) Kimberly Elise and John Carroll Lynch also star in this Jerry Bruckheimer series.

Criminal Minds stars Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore as part of an elite team of FBI profilers, each with their own particular field of expertise.

Ghost Whisperer is based on the work of famed medium James Van Praagh, and is the story of a recently married woman, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is able to communicate with the souls of the recently departed. Aisha Tyler and David Conrad also star.

Threshold: When the US Navy discovers that a UFO has landed in the Atlantic, a special team led by Dr Molly Caffrey (Carla Gugino) is assembled to decipher the intentions of the craft and prepare for an alien invasion. Cast includes Charles S. Dutton, Brent Spiner, Robert Van Holt, and Robert Patrick Benedict. Producers are Brannon Braga, David Heyman and David Goyer.

Comments: The motto at CBS appears to be "if it ain't broke don't fix it, just tweak it a little." They've dumped several of their weakest series (including Joan of Arcadia which will no doubt tick off the PTC) but three nights are untouched (two if you don't count Saturday which had nothing but repeats of existing series anyway), and only Friday has more than one hour of new programming. The only mildly surprising cancellation is Listen Up although both it and Still Standing weren't setting the world on fire with their ratings. King Of Queens was swapped for Still Standing to give a better lead for How I Met Your Mother, while Two And A Half Men, which actually built on the ratings of Everybody Loves Raymond inherits Raymond's time slot. The shows I expect to make early exits are Criminal Minds in the extremely competitive Wednesday 9-10 timeslot, and Ghost Whisperer (I hope).