Reacting to NBC

NBC's press release announcing its Fall schedule is here. My thoughts:

Heroes, about a group of people who discover they have superheroes, sounds like it was written for my Misfits of Science-loving psyche. How well it works will all depend on the execution, but I'll certainly give it a try.

Friday Night Lights, a high school football series (didn't see the progeniting film) isn't grabbing me. Don't care for football much, and nothing else in the description is making me perk up. And it'll probably be opposite Gilmore Girls, so it will probably get a pass.

Kidnapped could be good, again, depending on the execution. But one kidnapping case followed over the course of a season could have the focus of 24 without the same writing-into-a-corner tendencies and issues that that show has.

20 Good Years and 30 Rock are the two new Wed. sitcoms. The first sounds like a wacky odd-couple-type riff that I'd have no interest in were it not for the stars--the pairing of John Lithgow and Jeffery Tambor sounds very intriguing. Still, if it's opposite Lost . . . Same goes for the first backstage-at-SNL show, 30 Rock. The idea and cast (esp. Tina Fey) have promise, but not sure if enough to break my inertial resistance against watching one thing and Ti-FAUXing another.

The second backstage-at-SNL show is probably the show I'm most looking forward to next year. The hype and buildup for Aaron Sorkin's return to dramedy has been substantial. But the premise, cast, timeslot, structure--all signs point to a very positive yes. Interestingly, NBC will also be running almost all new ERs so that they can give the prime slot to The Black Donnelys in January. That show could also be good--I loved Crash and Million Dollar Baby, so I'll give screenwriter Paul Haggis' show (about the Irish mob) a try for sure.

Oh, and I don't care about the NFL.

Until Whenever