Fox TCA Recap

As Melissa so eloquently pointed out in Tuesday’s TV guide, I was not home to watch any of the usual Tuesday shows. Instead I spend the day with hundreds of other television critics looking at the new programming for Fox’s Winter and Spring line-up.

Much as I’d like to talk about the process of being in the room, I’ll spare everyone those details and get down to a few of the issues that we Nice Girls (and you by extension) care about with Fox’s line-up.

During the Executive Panel with Kevin Reilly spoke to some of the scheduling issues that have altered the location of some of our favorite shows this season. Much as I could tell, Reilly didn’t put Dollhouse on Friday’s as a sign of distrust, but as a way to keep using the dedicated fans of Whedon’s work. He also felt the mix of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse fit together now that American Idol is back on. The change also will help, he hopes, to keep the network moving forward in the competition for ratings.

It is sure that Fringe will have a few more people watching this week, but the show has not gone out of its way to reset the show for any of them. Each of the next few episodes, Reilly told the room, will still have self-contained mysteries, but I don’t take that to mean we’ll be missing out on any of those questions that we’re all dying to know.

Bones has continued to do well, even with all of the changes in its position, but hopefully the pattern of the show on Thursday along with the new line-up on Friday will help everyone. Reilly noted that no matter where the show has been, it has done well. (This fan would like for it to stay in one place for at least a full season, but we’ll see where that goes.)

Following that, the network introduced one of its new shows, Lie to Me which deals with a doctor and his team who work on solving various cases by analyzing a person’s body, face, speech and voice. The show seems compelling enough with a new twist on procedural shows.

Next came the return of 24 with its new season. The creative team seems happy with returning, and has high hopes for this season, especially given how much time they had to tweak the entire season.

The next panel presented the audience to the next creative project from Mitchell Hurtwitz, executive producer of Arrested Development. This time, with help of creative team from Two and a Half Men and The Simpsons, Sit Down, Shut Up is an animated version of the New Zealand show about teachers in a high school who want nothing to do with their students. The voice actors, including Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Kirstin Chenoweth and Henry Winkler, all have a niche as teachers with serious issues. The show also features a live-action backdrop to the school. Even seeing rough animatics, the show has a satirical look at teaching that are sure to resonate with both children and adults alive.

Dollhouse‘s panel followed panels on American Idol and The Osbournes: Reloaded, and helped to answer some of the many questions about the retolled pilot and the way in which the show is going to continue to use the “Actives” and those who create them in the house. Not much attention was given to Paul Ballard’s role in the series, though it seems that his character will be around to create rifts in the lives of the “Actives” and those in the house.

The final two presentations focused on House, which celebrates its 100th episode next month, and Glee a new comedy from the creator of Nip/Tuck and Popular, this time taking on the world of high school glee clubs and the students in them.

Much else can be said, but for the time being, I’ll leave it here.