A & E

Weird.

That's the only word to describe the fall TV season, which is the biggest casualty of the 100-day writers strike.

TV executives often talk about wanting to shake up the way they do business. And TV critics and viewers often wish networks wouldn't load each fall season with more new programs than any sane person can absorb.

This year, both wishes were granted. Thanks to the strike, which began in November, fewer new shows were made for fall. As of this writing, I've only seen eight of about two dozen new programs. They're not necessarily all bad (a few were even surprisingly pleasant), but there's a tentativeness about the broadcast network offerings.

We're getting remakes of foreign shows ("Eleventh Hour," "Kath & Kim," "Life on Mars"), remakes of old shows ("90210," "Knight Rider") and remakes of classic literature ("Crusoe" and "My Own Worst Enemy," a Jekyll and Hyde tale). Even the most high-profile offering, J.J. Abrams' "Fringe," seems, at first glance, to be an amalgamation of ideas from shows such as "X-Files" and "Twilight Zone."

Is it time for the broadcast networks, which have given us this buzz-free fall, to exit stage left? Should they cede the tube to more adventurous cable networks? That's what Mark Harris argues in a provocative recent piece in Portfolio.

By surrendering to the relentless niche-ification that the digital age has brought, cable networks, which identify and pursue specific slices of the TV audience, are operating at an advantage, Harris argues.

"Broadcast networks want everyone," Harris writes. "And the business of wanting everyone has never been worse."

Before we plan the memorial service for the broadcast networks, I'd like to point out two things.

First, cable networks are not infallible. Last Monday, TNT debuted a tepid legal drama, "Raising the Bar." Its creator, Steven Bochco ("L.A. Law," "Hill Street Blues"), helped rewrite the network-TV playbook with his earlier series. Trouble is, his show feels like a broadcast-network legal drama from the '90s, not like "The Closer," TNT's most successful show.

Second, I have three words for Harris: The "Lost" pilot. What cable network would have spent more than $10 million on that, as ABC did. Perhaps "Lost's" success is an anomaly, but that was one attempt to woo "everyone" that worked out OK.

Much as it pains me (the memory of "Viva Laughlin" lingers), I come not to bury the broadcast networks, but to praise them.

Cable is indeed having a well-deserved moment in the sun -- the returns of "The Shield" on FX and "Dexter" on Showtime are the most anticipated September events in my house. But the game is more fun when all teams are giving their best.

As long as the broadcast networks are around, they're going to be giving people money to make TV shows. Many resulting programs will be bad, but every year there are gems.

So is there a treasure to be found in this year's muddled mixture? That remains to be seen.

Stay tuned.

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NEW SERIES: NIGHT BY NIGHT

Below is a night-by-night breakdown of new network shows and notable new cable programs for September.

I haven't seen every show on this list; I've added a short evaluation of each program I have seen in "Mo's Take."

MONDAY

• "Raising the Bar" (TNT) -- Air time: 10 p.m. Mondays; Law drama. Steven Bochco ("LA Law," "NYPD Blue," etc.) returns with yet another drama focused on the personal and professional lives of a group of lawyers, this time young prosecutors and public defenders.

Mo's take: Bochco has made the most cutting-edge drama -- of 1994. None of these thinly drawn characters is compelling, and the entire production feels dated and staged.

• "Worst Week" (CBS) -- Premieres: 9:30 p.m., Sept. 22; Comedy. Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) and his girlfriend Melanie (Erinn Hayes) want to break the news that they're engaged and having a baby to Melanie's parents, but a series of mishaps lead her disapproving parents to like Sam even less.

Mo's take: Misunderstandings are common on sitcoms, but this sitcom features only predictable misunderstandings and botched attempts at good deeds. Hilarity does not ensue.

TUESDAY

• "90210" (CW) -- Air time: 8 p.m. Tuesdays; Soap opera. A remake of the cheeseball classic "Beverly Hills, 90210," this show has made news for whom it doesn't star (Tori Spelling refused to come aboard for a guest arc, though Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth will return for several episodes) and what the network hasn't done (send the pilot episodes to critics in advance).

• "Fringe" (Fox) -- Premieres: 8 p.m., Tuesday; Sci-fi. Three very different individuals (a mad scientist, his slick, slacker son and an FBI investigator) come together to explore "fringe" science and seemingly impossible events. Along the way, they investigate a grand conspiracy known as "the Pattern." Given that this pilot is from J.J. Abrams, creator of "Alias" and a co-creator of "Lost," expectations are high for this fantastical drama.

Mo's take: Parts of this ambitious show's two-hour pilot were enjoyable, but it was too frequently overwrought, and the characters didn't really gel. Time will tell if "Fringe" will begin to deserve its frequent "X-Files" comparisons.

• "Privileged" (CW) -- Premieres: 9 p.m., Tuesday; Drama. A young Yale University graduate becomes the tutor to two super-wealthy young women in Palm Beach.

Mo's take: More pleasant and amusing than expected, but don't we already have enough dramas about spoiled rich people?

• "Opportunity Knocks" (ABC) -- Premieres: 8 p.m., Sept. 23; Game show. A game-show host shows up on a family's doorstep, complete with cash, prizes and an audience made up of the family's friends and neighbors.

• "The Mentalist" (CBS) -- Premieres: 9 p.m., Sept. 23; Drama. This show has been described as "Psych" without the laughs, and that's not a completely unfair description. Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic who admits that his "gift" is the result of simple observational skills. He consults with law enforcement now, though his California Bureau of Investigation handler, Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) resents having him around.

Mo's take: This drama (from "Rome's" Bruno Heller) pleasantly surprised me. Its formula may grow stale (and there were a couple melodramatic twists I could have done without), but I found it atmospheric and watchable.

WEDNESDAY

• "Sons of Anarchy" (FX) -- Air time: 10 p.m. Wednesdays; Drama. A drama about bikers in northern California, from "Shield" writer Kurt Sutter.

Mo's take: It's tough to follow in the footsteps of "The Shield," and though "Sons" has its moments, it's quite a bit darker than the cop drama, and it remains to be seen if its characters will ultimately be as compelling as Vic Mackey and his crew.

• "Do Not Disturb" (Fox) -- Premieres: 9:30 p.m., WednesdayComedy. An allegedly humorous depiction of what goes on behind the scenes at a swanky hotel.

Mo's take: There are unfunny comedies. Then there are painful, unfunny comedies that make you feel sick in your soul. Let's just say, when it comes to this show, Do Not Check In.

• "Knight Rider" (NBC) -- Premieres: 8 p.m., Sept. 24; Action-adventure. The '80s TV show gets an NBC-style remake (which didn't work out well for "Bionic Woman" last year). The show's KITT car has a jet-fighter's weapons system, and "its body is capable of actually transforming into other vehicles and using sophisticated holographic imagery to elude villains." Woo.

• "Gary Unmarried" (CBS) -- Premieres: 8:30 p.m., Sept. 24; Comedy. Gary (Jay Mohr) and Allison (Paula Marshall) are trying to have a civil divorce, but it's not easy.

Mo's take: It's a formulaic multicamera comedy, in which the woman is the shrew and the man is just a slightly clueless nice guy. The ex-couple has two children, and according to CBS' description of the show, "he's the fun parent and she's the strict one." I'm giggling already. Much of the appeal will hinge on how much you enjoy Jay Mohr. Er ...

FRIDAY

• No Friday premieres until October.

SATURDAY

• The usual dead zone of repeats, sports and so forth.

SUNDAY

• "True Blood" (HBO) -- Premieres: 9 p.m. today; Drama. Vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak, in this drama based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.

Mo's take: Stephen Moyer is brooding and sexy as a vamp who camps in a Louisiana town, but the relationship between his 173-year old character, Bill, and Sookie (Anna Paquin) doesn't seem quite as steamy as it should be. Not a bad show, just not the home run HBO needs.

• "Hole in the Wall" (Fox) -- Premieres: 9:35 p.m., today (usual one-hour time slot on Thursdays); Game show. Description: Contestants on this "Wipeout!"-like show attempt to fit themselves through oddly shaped holes in a wall. Are they really going to fill up an hour with these antics?

• "Valentine" (CW) -- Premieres: 8 p.m., Sept. 21; Romantic comedy. While attempting to keep their real identities secret, Greek gods (Eros, Aphrodite, Hercules, etc.) attempt to bring lovers together.

• "Easy Money" (CW) -- Premieres: 9 p.m., Sept. 21; Drama. Judge Reinhold and Laurie Metcalf star in this show about an eccentric family's payday loan business. It's "a modern-day Dickensian tale of money and identity," according to a press release about the show, which comes from executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider ("The Sopranos," "Northern Exposure").

• "The Life and Times of Tim" (HBO) -- Premieres: 10 p.m., Sept. 28 (sneak preview today); Animated comedy. A half-hour comedy about a "self-conscious young guy living in New York" who always manages to do the wrong thing, HBO says,

• "Little Britain USA" (HBO) -- Premieres: 10:30 p.m., Sept. 28 (sneak preview Monday); Sketch comedy. David Walliams and Matt Lucas attempt to translate their English hit for American sensibilities.

OCTOBER DEBUTS

• Oct. 3: "The Ex List" (CBS), "Sanctuary" (Sci Fi)

• Oct. 9: "Eleventh Hour" (CBS), "Kath & Kim" (NBC), "Life on Mars" (ABC), "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (NBC), "Testees" (FX)

• Oct. 13: "My Own Worst Enemy" (NBC)

• Oct. 17: "Crash" (Starz), "Crusoe" (NBC)

• Oct. 22: "Stylista" (CW)

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RETURNING SERIES

Several freshman shows from last season are being remodeled and relaunched this fall, and some long-serving veterans are getting a tuneup as well. Here's a rundown of the changes that will be made to notable veteran shows and to members of last year's freshman class:

• "Chuck" (Sept. 29, NBC): One of my main quibbles with this otherwise charmingly goofy adventure show was that I couldn't see a way around this problem: What if the spy secrets that had been accidentally downloaded into the hapless Chuck Bartowski's brain became outdated? That issue will be addressed head-on, as it were, in Season 2, creator Josh Schwartz said in July at the Television Critic Association's press tour. "We actually play with this going right into the first episode this season ... this idea of when the government rebuilds the (espionage-related) Intersect computer, Chuck will become expendable and it will be left to Casey, Adam Baldwin's character, to 'disappear' him, as they say in the NSA." That arc will play out all season, as will a romantic story line featuring the charmingly nerdy Chuck and his CIA handler, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski).

• "CSI" (Oct. 9, CBS): In the ninth episode of the season, Laurence Fishburne will make his first appearance. Fishburne is the new lead on the show, replacing William Petersen, who's leaving after episode 10. Fishburne will play a criminologist who is consulted by the "CSI" techs and eventually joins their team. The new character, who is as yet unnamed, thinks he may have criminal tendencies himself. He is "trying to use the world of solving murders and violent killers to understand his own soul," executive producer Naren Shankar said in a July interview.

• "Desperate Housewives" (Sept. 28, ABC): The show's fourth-season finale ended with a jump five years into the future, a move that creator Marc Cherry said was driven by the show's overly Byzantine plots. Soap-opera entanglements tend "to build up and ... I wanted to get back to where we were that very first season, where it's just the problems of some ordinary women and they were small and relatable," Cherry said in July.

• "Dexter" (Sept. 28, Showtime): Jimmy Smits joins the addictive drama as Miami district attorney Miguel Prado. "He and Dexter set something in motion neither can pull back," executive producer Clyde Phillips said at a July Comic-Con panel. "It's a pretty loaded friendship," Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter, added.

• "Dirty Sexy Money" (Oct. 1, ABC): More dirt, more sex, more money. That's what the show's cast and producers promised. "While I enjoy the ambivalence of, 'What world am I in and how can I maintain my integrity?' I think that we need to see Nick give into some more temptation," said Peter Krause, who plays Nick George, an attorney for New York's super-wealthy Darling clan. Lucy Liu also joins the cast as a crafty woman who works her way into the Darlings' inner circle.

"Eli Stone" (Oct. 14, ABC): Last season, lawyer Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller), was having mysterious visions, but he didn't know if they were the result of an aneurysm or the consequence of being a prophet. This season, "The first episode addresses head-on the big questions at the end of last year: Is Eli alive or dead? Is the aneurysm in or out? Is he having visions or not? You're going to get answers to all those questions. ... The visions in the premiere are completely unlike any of the visions that we had last year -- even the musical numbers are completely different and it sets the tone of 'expect the unexpected,' " executive producer Marc Guggenheim said. Finally, the show has had a couple of casting coups: Katie Holmes guest stars in the second episode of the season -- she'll play an attorney -- and Sigourney Weaver guest stars as a therapist treating Eli.

"Heroes" (Sept. 22, NBC): Reeling from a poorly received second season, which was shortened by the writers strike, "Heroes" creator Tim Kring attempted to make amends by screening the first episode of Season 3 at July's Comic-Con. The short (and non-spoilery) version: The episode is a reasonable re-introduction to where the show left off; Hiro and Ando meet a speedy new character, and Sylar seems suitably creepy again.

"Life" (Sept. 29, NBC): Donal Logue ("Grounded for Life") has joined the cast as Capt. Brian Tidwell, Detective Charlie Crews' new boss. Tidwell brings a "brash, no-nonsense, New York sensibility into a department that is very much Los Angeles," executive producer Rand Ravich told critics. As for the conspiracy Crews was investigating -- he was unjustly imprisoned for murders he didn't commit -- Ravich says that will be part of the new season. Last season, "we found the guy who did the actual killing, but that will just be the tip of the iceberg. The people who put (the killer) into play, the larger forces at work, are still out there," Ravich said. A programming note: "Life" airs twice a week when it returns, on Mondays and Fridays -- but only for two weeks. Those dates are Sept. 29, Oct. 3, Oct. 6 and Oct. 10. Then the show airs only on Fridays.

• "Private Practice" (Oct. 1, ABC): Creator Shonda Rhimes told critics that the show, a spinoff of "Grey's Anatomy" that centers on Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), would begin to focus more on medical issues and ethical dilemmas. "There is surgery in it, because Addison is a surgeon, and she gets back to doing that."

• "Pushing Daisies" (Oct. 1, ABC): ABC wanted this fanciful fantasy to be more grounded in its second season, while creator Bryan Fuller didn't want to change "the fundamental DNA of the show" too much, Fuller told USA Today. To address production woes, which had the show running behind schedule and over budget, the number of scenes per episode have been trimmed, but Fuller told USA Today that the show's blend of whimsy and crime-solving remains intact.

• "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Monday, Fox): Executive producer John Wirth said that the show would be less serialized this year. "We backed off that a little bit this year," John Wirth said. Executive producer Josh Friedman agreed: "Sometimes the show got overly complicated, and ... I think that maybe we lost some people."

Changing times

Here's a quick list of scripted shows that have moved to new nights:

• "Boston Legal" (Sept. 22, ABC) airs on Mondays for its final season.

• "Without a Trace" (Sept. 23, CBS) Tuesdays.

• "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (Sept. 24, CBS) Wednesdays.

• "Lipstick Jungle" (returns Sept. 24 on NBC) Wednesdays.

• "Bones" (returned last week with a two-hour episode on Fox) now on Wednesdays.

• "The Unit" (Sept. 28, CBS) Sundays.

• "24" will return on Mondays on Fox, but not until January.

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