Where Do I Start???

The past 24 hours have been quite active in the world of television.

First of all... did you see Lost last night? Was that one incredible piece of television, or what? With all due respect to my friend Bob, who found last night's episode to be somewhat of a disappointment, last night's Lost was one of the finest pieces of episodic television ever. As proven by last night's season finale, JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Carlton Cuse are television's reigning master producers.

Lost played the serialized-drama card EXACTLY right: in finally telling us both how the plane crashed and whether or not the ongoing "entering of the numbers" was a valid exercise (as opposed to it being just some kind of psychological experiment), they gave their loyal fans a HUGE and well-deserved payoff. At the same time, however, they managed to create an entirely new direction for the show - an almost 180-degree turn in perspective - that will have all of us Lost fans debating and wondering for the next three months.

It was quite the ride last night. Is it September yet??


Also happening in the world of television over the past 24 hours... NBC, as expected, has re-jiggered its Fall lineup. A rejiggering was certainly not unexpected. In fact, since ABC's upfront announcement that it would be moving its mega-hit Grey's Anatomy to Thursdays, most industry pundits, yours-truly included, expected NBC to shift its most-promising new Fall entry, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, out of the Thursday line-of-fire.

However, NBC dropped the programming equivalent of a bombshell on the telelvision world this morning with an announcement that it would completely overhaul its Fall lineup... a lineup that had just been announced a little over a week ago. A massive pre-Fall overhaul such as the one announced today by NBC is unprecedented. A couple of changes? Sure - of course. Happens with every network at one point or another. But changes to five nights of the schedule... a schedule which had just been put in place ten days ago? Completely unheard of.

The big, albeit expected, move is that of Studio 60 to Monday nights (and don't forget, you heard it here first!). But one move that no one saw coming is the shift of the peacock's stalwart Law & Order out of its longtime berth on Wednesdays to Fridays.

Also of note: Law & Order: Criminal Intent will now share Tuesday nights with its Dick Wolf sibling Law & Order: SVU. And what show has been annoited to fill the killer Thursday slot opposite Grey's Anatomy and CBS' CSI? None other than that NBC game-show dynamo Deal or No Deal.

Here's what the NBC Fall lineup looked like 10 days ago:

MONDAY
8:00 Deal or No Deal
9:00 Heroes
10:00 Medium


TUESDAY
8:00 Friday Night Lights
9:00 Kidnapped
10:00 Law & Order: SVU


WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Biggest Loser
9:00 Twenty Good Years
9:30 30 Rock
10:00 Law & Order


THURSDAY
8:00 My Name is Earl
8:30 The Office
9:00 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
10:00 ER


FRIDAY
8:00 Deal or No Deal
9:00 Las Vegas 10:00
Law & Order: CI


SATURDAY
8:00 Dateline NBC
9:00 drama repeats
1 0:00 drama repeats


SUNDAY
7:00 Football Night in America
8:00 NFL Sunday Night Football


And here's the revised version of the Fall lineup:


MONDAY
8:00 Deal or No Deal
9:00 Heroes
10:00 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip


TUESDAY
8:00 Friday Night Lights
9:00 Law & Order: CI
10:00 Law & Order: SVU


WEDNESDAY
8:00 Twenty Good Years
8:30 30 Rock
9:00 The Biggest Loser
10:00 Kidnapped


THURSDAY
8:00 My Name is Earl
8:30 The Office
9:00 Deal or No Deal
10:00 ER


FRIDAY
8:00 Crossing Jordan
9:00 Las Vegas
10:00 Law & Order


SATURDAY
8:00 Dateline NBC
9:00 drama repeats
10:00 drama repeats


SUNDAY
7:00 Football Night in America
8:00 NFL Sunday Night Football


You'll note that Crossing Jordan, which was due to sit on the bench until midseason, has been called into the game to fill Deal or No Deal's former Friday-at-8 slot. Taking its place on the see-you-at-midseason bench is former Monday-at-10 occupant Medium.

You've gotta feel sorry for NBC. This once-mighty peacock was once the home to Thursdays-at-9 classics such as Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier, and Will & Grace. When they turn over this Thursday-at-9 legacy to a Howie Mandel game show, then you KNOW that this is a network in desperation.