Premise

Three generations of men clash in this sitcom about Benjamin Madigan, a newly divorced man trying to maintain a strong relationship with his son, when Seamus Madigan, his outspoken father, comes to live with him

Familiar Faces

Movie Actor Gabriel Byrne, Grant Shaud (Murphy Brown), Roy Dotrice (Beauty and the Beast)

Our Take

Madigan Men will be up for a battle in facing off against the established Dateline and C.S.I. (which will benefit from its placement between The Fugitive and Nash Bridges)

Expect to Hear

Seamus Madigan: “So why don’t you go?”

Benjamin Madigan: “I have a conflict...I have a date”

Seamus Madigan: “What’s been going on in Ireland for the past 300 years is a conflict. A date is something you cancel to be with your son”

Premise

Convicted for a crime he did not commit, Dr. Richard Kimble helps out strangers he encounters on the road while hunting the real culprit (the one armed man). The show is an update of the movie, which was an update of the original TV series

Familiar Faces

Tim Daly (Wings), Mykelti Williamson (The New WKRP in Cincinnati/Forrest Gump)

Our Take

In a night filled with unproven action-adventure programming, The Fugitive has the best chance of survival and may prove a nice alternative to viewers not interested in the female skewing Providence

Expect to Hear

Dr. Richard Kimble: “The man that killed my wife is in Miami”

Lt. Phillip Gerard: “Yeah, and I’m looking at him”

Premise

The top crime scene investigation unit in the country sorts through evidence and solves a variety of crimes

Familiar Faces

William L. Peterson (To Live and Die in L.A.), Marg Helgenberger (China Beach)

Our Take

Thanks to its time slot between The Fugitive and Nash Bridges, C.S.I. probably has the second best chance (after The Fugitive) of any of the action-adventure shows to survive on Friday night

Expect to Hear

Gil Grissom: “We’re the #2 crime lab in the country. We solve crimes most labs render unsolvable. What makes you think you belong here?”

Premise

In this series from the producers of The Blair Witch Project, Derek Barnes is hosting a web site focussed on paranormal phenomena called “Freaky Links” when he begins seeing images of his dead twin.  With the help of his late brother’s fiancé, he tries to uncover the truth while helping other people facing paranormal challenges along the way

Familiar Faces

Ethan Embry (Work with Me), Dennis Christopher (Profiler)

Our Take

Freaky Links will face tough competition from Providence (a proven winner in the time slot), The Fugitive (which has the best chance of any of the Friday night action-adventure series), and ABC’s long standing (albeit weakened) night of sitcoms

Expect to Hear

Derek Barnes: “I don’t know why, but someone is playing games with my mind and I am going to find out who”

Premise

Each episode is a stand-alone horror/sci-fi show that strongly resembles the format of The Twilight Zone

Familiar Faces

Antho

Our Take

With the exception of some limited success on cable for a new version of The Outer Limits attempts at revisiting The Twilight Zone format (including the Steven Spielberg backed Amazing Stories) have not proven successful.  Additionally, Night Visions is in a tough time slot for a genre program

Expect to Hear

Coroner: “He thinks his daughter was on the flight? That’s bizarre”

Agent: “It’s not only bizarre, it’s impossible.  His daughter died two years ago”

Premise

In the near future, the government has been taken over by a military group uninterested in civil liberties and democracy.  Unwilling to serve the new regime, members of an elite military unit join forces with the resistance

Familiar Faces

Vincent Spano (Oscar), Darius McCrary (Family Matters)

Our Take

As yet another one of the new sci-fi/action-adventure series, Freedom will have a difficult time in building an audience.  The key issue is whether or not they will reach a large enough demographic (young male skewing) audience for UPN

Expect to Hear

Cally: “We’re an elite, deniable commando team. We got the jobs that no one else could handle and that no one, no one, ever heard the truth about”

Premise

Level 9 is a secret government agency that tracks down high-tech criminals. With the help of agents gathered from the top law enforcement agencies, they wage a secret battle against cyber criminals

Familiar Faces

Tim Guinee (Strange World), Kate Hodge (Working)

Our Take

This UPN series is yet another one one of the many new action-adventure series premiering on Friday night.  As with Freedom, the real question is whether or not it will meet UPN’s expectations

Expect to Hear

Ann Price: “He’s not just a hacker that we pulled out of the can. He’s one of them, one of the great uprising”

Premise

The behind the scenes melodrama at Grosse Pointe, a Beverly Hills 90210-type primetime soap, involves almost as much soap opera type scheming and drama as can be found on the soap itself

Familiar Faces

William Ragsdale (Herman’s Head), Joely Fisher (Ellen), Lindsay Sloane (Sabrina: The Teenaged Witch)

Our Take

The pilot does a great job of spoofing Beverly Hills 90210 and should have a pre-built teen/young adult audience thanks to it’s lead-in (Sabrina) .  Rumor has it, however, that the series may be eliminating some of the jokes in order to avoid offending producer Aaron Spelling (who provides the network with Charmed and 7th Heaven).  Of course, toning down the humor may reduce its potential

Expect to Hear

Rob (the fictional Grosse Pointe’s Producer): “It’s amazing what passes for prom queen when your uncle’s the president of the network”