Upfronts Day 1: NBC Goes Supernatural

This is going to be the longest week of my life. I'm blessedly spoiler free for All Hell Breaks Loose Part II, and unfortunately spolier free for the CW's Upfront¹ presentation on Thursday, when we find out whether Supernatural has been renewed.

In the meantime, I'm trying to read renewal tea leaves in rumors and the actions of other networks, and see if there's anything exciting on the programming horizon. NBC went first today (full press releases). They seems to have taken the success of Heroes² (their only hit from last year's new fall shows) as an indication that American wants lots of supernatural-themed dramas. As the Kansas City Star's reviewer puts it: "It’s as though Sci Fi, which is owned by NBC Universal, has taken over the network, 'Body Snatchers'-style."

New programs include:
* a remake of the Bionic Woman, with some of the producers from Battlestar Galactica and The X-Files, as well as Katee Sackhoff as the crazy, beta version of the title character... which, oddly, I can totally see.
* Journeyman: a journalist finds himself unwittingly traveling back in time to Put Right What Once Went Wrong. Kevin McRidd stars. Couldn't get Scott Bakula, I guess.
* Chuck: A young computer geek accidentally downloads the nation's most top secret spy info into his brain, and is propelled into a new life as a secret agent. Adam Baldwin supports as Chuck's NSA protection detail. Developed by McG. Sounds awful to me, but at least it's not the Pussycat Dolls.

If Dawn Ostroff and the CW are still moving their pieces around the board, will NBC's tilt toward genre programming weigh in their decisions? I'm a little worried about of rumors indicating the slacker demon hunter pilot³ has made CW's schedule, as it seems to me, among the network's other pilots, the program most likely to be seen as a replacement for Supernatural. However, if NBC is taking a chance on 3 additional sci-fi themed dramas, will this reassure the CW execs that's there's room for the new pilot without removing their current genre shows?

The network is introducing two other dramas, Life (cop show) and Lipstick Jungle (Candice Bushnell ripping herself off), two comedies and two reality programs. All three Law & Orders are back, though CI will air on USA before it runs on NBC. Dick Wolf miserably refused to comment on anything important, like "Is Fred Thompson running for president?" Friday Night Lights is moving to fridays (where, sadly, it's likely to wither and die). Tom Selleck will be joining the cast of Las Vegas, which might finally make me tune in.

¹The upfronts are a series of presentations where American broadcast television networks attempt to sell advertizers on their new and renewed programming. They're "upfront" because the advertizers are purchasing ad time in advance of their intitial broadcast.

²Which I totally heart. Hiro is my television boyfriend.

³Which I prefered back when it was called Brimstone and starred John Glover. He'll always be Satan to me. *sniffle*

(no subject)

What she said. I guess it's a fun game for some people: let's try to get a reaction out of the actor by shocking him (that's the only explanation I can come up with for Stargate fandom's bizarre obsession with the underpants question). Others perhaps can't get by just doing their own thing and need the actors/PTB to approve of their fannish interests.

LET. IT. GO.

This is the man's career. Everything's on the record. Let him entertain you, but not with a live hurt/nocomfort scene.