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Monday
Night 2005/2006
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Net
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8:00pm
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8:30pm
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9:00pm
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9:30pm
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10:00pm
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ABC
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Wife
Swap
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Monday Night Football
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CBS
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King of Queens
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Two/Half Men
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C.S.I. Miami
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FOX
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Arrested Development
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<Local>
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NBC
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Las Vegas
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Medium
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UPN
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One on One
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All of Us
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Girlfriends
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Half
& Half
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<Local>
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WB
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7th Heaven
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<Local>
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CBS
--- Hour-Hour Sitcom --- Monday --- 8:30 PM
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Premise
How I Met Your Mother recounts the story
of Ted and his search for his eventual wife.
The story and series begin with Ted feeling
pressure to marry after two of his best friends
become engaged. The series takes place in the
form of flashbacks whereby Ted describes his
search as a story to his children (and to the
viewers).
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
The Wonder Years meets Friends
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Our
Take
How I Met Your Mother is one of the better
sitcom pilots this year. Additionally, it has
a nice time slot between two proven CBS sitcom
winners.
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Familiar
Faces
Allyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer),
Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, M.D.)
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CBS
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Monday --- 9:30 PM
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The
Barnes family have two things in common: their
last name and their involvement in the medical
profession. Unfortunately, young Ben Barnes
stands apart. While he may technically be called
Doctor, the fact that he is only a psychologist
falls below the normal medical bar in the family.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
A family of doctors with an outside family member
was also seen in the Kirstie Alley movie Sibling
Rivalry
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Our
Take
Out of Practice is clearly the weaker
of the two new CBS Monday night sitcoms. While
it includes a talented cast, they never seem
to reach their full potential in the pilot.
The only true advantage this program has is
a great timeslot between two proven series.
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Familiar
Faces
Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0), Henry
Winkler (Happy Days), Stockard Channing
(The West Wing), Paula Marshall (Cupid
)
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FOX
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Monday --- 8:30 PM
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Premise
Based on Chef Anthony Bourdain’s autobiography,
Kitchen Confidential takes viewers behind
the scenes in the kitchen of an upscale New
York restaurant. Bradley Cooper stars as a fictional
chef Jack Bourdain, a man who found fame at
an early age only to lose it all thanks to a
drinking problem. Now he’s back with a second
chance to make it in the culinary world.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
Cheers or The Restaurant as a
sitcom
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Our
Take
The greatest challenge facing this program will
be its time slot. This is an unproven time for
FOX sitcoms. Additionally, Kitchen Confidential’s
lead-in (Arrested Development) may
be critically acclaimed, but has always been
ratings challenged.
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Familiar
Faces
Bradley Cooper (Alias), Bonnie Somerville
( NYPD Blue), Nicholas Brendon (Buffy,
the Vampire Slayer), Jaime King (Movies
Pearl Harbor/White Chicks)
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FOX
--- Hour Drama --- Monday --- 9:00 PM
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Premise
The love for a family member can force someone
to take desperate actions. After his brother
is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit,
Michael Scofield purposely gets incarcerated
himself. However, Michael has a plan to use
his inside knowledge of the prison and a carefully
crafted plan to help both of them escape before
his brother is executed. This series will
play out in serialized form similar to 24.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
24 meets Escape from Alcatraz
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Our
Take
The quality of the pilot is top-notch, and
it does seem to include many of the winning
characteristics of a captivating serial drama.
The only challenge is attracting viewers in
the first place and getting them to commit
to a long-term story.
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Familiar
Faces
Robin Tunney (Movies The Craft/End of Days),
Dominic Purcell (John Doe), Sarah Wayne
Callies (Tarzan), Stacy Keach (Mike
Hammer)
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NBC
--- Hour Drama --- Monday --- 8:00 PM
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Premise
The discovery of a new species of marine life
reveals the various impulses and reactions
in people from all walks of life. Some may
want to protect it, others become obsessed
with getting fame from its research, and still
others warn it will destroy humanity. This
one-hour drama follows the politics that come
into play in the rift between advocating protection
of a species and the fear of the unknown.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
Any Saturday night Sci-Fi Channel movie involving
the ocean and sea creatures
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Our
Take
It is very unclear from the pilot what direction
the series will take. (The pilot pretty much
ends before anything really happens.) Additionally,
sci-fi is always a risk. While there are many
sci-fi success stories (The X-Files
and Lost), there are actually many
more failures.
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Familiar
Faces
Lake Bell (Boston Legal)
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WB
--- Hour Drama --- Monday --- 9:00 PM
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Premise
Don Johnson plays Grant Cooper, a rogue lawyer
who has become jaded by the realities of being
a trial lawyer. On the other hand, Jay Baruchel
plays Skip Ross, a prodigy law school graduate
who is still filled with hope. When Ross’
young age (18) prevents him from being hired
by a regular law firm, he finds himself working
with Cooper.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
Doogie Howser gets a law degree
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Our
Take
While the pilot is enjoyable and the series
comes from winning TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
the time slot is somewhat odd. Just Legal
seems much less compatible with 7th Heaven
than its time slot predecessor (Everwood).
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Familiar
Faces
Don Johnson (Miami Vice/Nash Bridges)
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Monday
Night 2005/2006:
Winter
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Net
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8:00pm
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8:30pm
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9:00pm
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9:30pm
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10:00pm
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ABC
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The
Bachelor
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Jake
in Progress
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CBS
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King of Queens
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How
I Met Your Mother
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Two/Half Men
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Out of Practice
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C.S.I. Miami
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FOX
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House
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24
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<Local>
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NBC
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Surface
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Las Vegas
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Medium
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UPN
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One on One
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All of Us
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Girlfriends
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Half
& Half
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<Local>
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WB
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7th Heaven
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Just
Legal
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<Local>
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ABC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Monday --- 9:00
PM --- [Winter]
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Premise
Heather Graham plays Emily Sanders, an independent
and successful professional whose only flaw
comes in the love department. After realizing
that she always makes the wrong decisions
with men, Emily decides to base her future
relationships on her “Reasons Why Not” list
(heard by the viewer via narration).
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
Ally McBeal meets Sex and the
City meets Caroline in the City
meets Suddenly Susan meets…
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Our
Take
Given that Emily’s Reasons does not
premiere until sometime in the future, it
is hard to predict too much. (After all,
there is no saying what the competition
may be at that point in time.) However,
as sitcom pilots go this year, Emily’s
Reasons was one of the better ones.
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Familiar
Faces
Heather Graham (Twin Peaks/Movie
Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged
Me), Nadia Dajani (Ned & Stacey)
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ABC
--- Hour Drama --- Monday --- 10:00 PM
--- [Winter]
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Premise
Brian (Barry Watson) is the last of a
group of friends to remain single. The
rest have married, are engaged, or have
created a family, and they cannot wait
until Brian joins them. Brian can’t seem
to figure out why he is still single,
even though everyone loves his friendship
and some even wish to be him.
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Where
Have We Seen This Before
A Dramatic Single Guy
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Our
Take
A major feature of the pilot is Brian’s
undeclared love for his friend’s fiancée.
As this triangle is somewhat settled in
the pilot, it is not completely clear
where the show will go next.
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Familiar
Faces
Barry Watson (7th Heaven), Rosanna
Arquette (Movies Desperately Seeking
Susan/The Whole Nine Yards), Amanda
Detmer (Saving Silverman)
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Go to Tuesday Night Programs
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