TVision: Fox stocking up for winter

NBC's disastrous start and the woeful performance of ABC's Wednesday night lineup have gotten plenty of attention. But things haven't exactly been humming along over at Fox, where the decision to shift House to Tuesdays at 7 p.m. against CBS' NCIS has resulted in huge audience losses.

Not to mention the recently concluded World Series was the lowest-rated in modern history.

But while their other rivals mark the start of the year in September, Fox doesn't take things seriously until January. Thursday they announced the return dates for their powerhouse shows 24 and American Idol.

These programs were the main reason Fox finished on top in the 18-49 demographic during the 2007-2008 season, and they're counting on them to repeat that success.

24 has been off the air some 18 months due to the writers' strike, but it's coming back in full force. 24: Redemption, a two-hour prequel to the new season, airs at 7 p.m. on Nov. 23 (WZTV-17).

It sets the stage for the show's four-hour, two-night return on Jan. 11 and 12. 24: Redemption was mainly shot on location in Cape Town, South Africa, and will introduce a major new figure, the nation's first female president (Cherry Jones).

Those who want to see even more 24 and its star, Kiefer Sutherland, can get the 24: Redemption DVD two days later, with extra footage, special interviews and a new trailer for the upcoming show.

Fox rolls out another season of American Idol Jan. 13 and 14, devoting two hours each night to what is unquestionably television's most popular show (although there was significant slippage last year for the first time). Even with some audience loss, the program stayed in the top spot all season, and Fox hopes it is still potent enough to make Fringe a big hit.

They're slotting Fringe at 8 p.m. after American Idol starting the following week.

The network's gambling that House hasn't really lost its appeal, but was just on at the wrong time and night earlier this year. The show moves to Mondays at 7 p.m. Jan. 19, and will be the lead-in for 24.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles moves to Friday nights at 7 p.m. Feb. 13.

The long-awaited Joss Whedon series Dollhouse got the proverbial shaft in all this maneuvering. It ended up on Fridays at 8 p.m. That night and time have been a death sentence for Fox shows, and Whedon turned down overtures from the CW to cast his creative lot with Fox.

The online response to Fox's move has been uniformly loud and angry, but the network chose to go with proven commodities on Monday night (an evening where they've largely been getting beaten) rather than a potential but unproven property.

Still, they're risking not only alienating fans, but Whedon, who still hasn't forgotten about the treatment of his previous Fox show Firefly. That program was critically praised, but received minimal promotion and dubious time slots, eventually disappearing after only a handful of episodes. Dollhouse got lots of hype during the summer, but won't even be on the air until February, and then in a less than desirable slot.

Yet another key Fox shift relocates Bones to Thursdays at 7 p.m. The program blossomed into a hit on Wednesdays at 7, and now will be Fox's leadoff program on network television's most competitive evening.

Fox sees an opening, because CBS' Survivor is aging, and neither My Name is Earl on NBC or Ugly Betty on ABC has been a consistent smash. They also keep the show away from CSI and Grey's Anatomy, the titans of Thursday night television.

'Criminal Intent' delayed

The networks aren't the only people upsetting viewers.

Fans of Law & Order: Criminal Intent just found out fresh episodes of the show on USA Network with new cast member Jeff Goldblum won't be starting this month after all.

USA made a late announcement last week — right before the new season was scheduled to begin Nov. 7 — that the show's return was being delayed until the first quarter of 2009. The rationale for this move it that it enables USA to air all 16 episodes without interruption, a practice that's become increasingly popular with serialized and partial season programs.

But by waiting so late to inform the viewers after running promos all fall highlighting Goldblum's arrival, USA ruffled some feathers, even though it makes good programming sense to run the show without repeats. Plus, this delay generates even more anticipation for the new episodes, something conspiracy theorists claim was the real reason for this action.