THE FRIDAY FIVE | Surprises this season so far

Remember when sweeps used to be a huge deal? (I also remember when broadcast networks relied on movies one night a week.) Now instead of stunt programming, we just get streamlined primetime lineups. It feels like the networks have been more patient this fall than in years past. Nonetheless, I’m thinking Jay Leno might just want to take the whole month off. As we approach the season’s first mile marker, here are some news items that made me furrow my young brow.

THE FRIDAY FIVE | 2009 Upfront Highlights

It’s been a busy week for the broadcast networks, who are gearing up for next year as the current season officially draws to a close. Here are some things I noticed during this week’s presentations.

GLEE | 1×01: “Pilot”

I was a little nervous about watching the sneak preview of Glee. Critical response had been so overwhelmingly positive that my expectations were dangerously high, which often leads me into spirals of unnecessary disappointment. That being said…

UPFRONTS 2009 | Fox fall (and spring) schedule

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2009 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME

TUESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Performance Show

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

Midseason schedule after the jump:

MADtv | 14×16: “MADtv Gives Back”

I caught last night’s series finale of the Fox also-ran Saturday night sketch show, and as I watched the faux-telethon, complete with clips and cameos of funnier times and characters, it was not hard to see why this show is getting the long-overdue boot. Just because the bloated corpse of SNL continues in perpetuity doesn’t mean this imitation, the spinoff of a once-popular magazine, should be granted the same repreive.

Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your TV, another sweep

Today marks the beginning of Neilsen’s May sweeps rating period, which stations typically use to set advertising rates. If it seems like we just got done being force-fed new episodes, guest star stunts, and all the other familiar trappings, it’s because we did. Back when that digital TV transition was supposed to happen in February, Neilsen moved the sweep that typically occurs in the groundhog month back to March. The DTV switch was delayed til June, but the March sweep happened as planned, which is a whole other set of someone else’s problems.

The May sweep, which begins tonight and runs through May 20, is also the final push for this year’s traditional TV season. Just a handful of episodes remain of most of your favorite shows. You can’t swing your remote around without it hitting some stunt casting, and in some cases season-long story arcs have been building to season-finale climaxes.

You may have noticed, though, that plenty of shows have premiered in recent weeks. Surely they can’t all be packing up in the next month. Some will, some won’t, but this is definitely a sign of the growing movement toward year-round scheduling. Harper’s Island blatantly bucks the in-season scheduling trend. This limited series is scheduled to conclude in July, and so far CBS seems committed to keeping it on the air that long.

Already there are casualties. Tonight’s episodes of Samantha Who? and In the Motherhood have been yanked in favor of a Grey’s Anatomy repeat from a few weeks ago, leading into that show’s new installment tonight; Ugly Betty will take back its time slot next Thursday, a little ahead of schedule. NBC has now punted sophomore drama Kings entirely off the schedule; apparently it was too much of a drag on the bottom line even on Saturdays, where the Peacock gang expects Law & Order repeats to outperform it.

I’ll be curious to see how this next month plays out. This is the third week for freshmen Parks and Recreation and Southland. Will they continue to capitalize on early momentum? And looking ahead to next fall and The Jay Leno Show, would Southland be viable in a 9p/8c timeslot (or, for that matter, Law & Order: SVU)? In the DVR/Hulu universe, does it even matter?

The networks have a lot of decisions to make, with upfront presentations looming in a few weeks. Fox seems likely to unload some of its cult series, CBS has some decisions to make about sitcoms, and I think we’re all a little curious about how NBC’s going to play its new, truncated schedule of scripted series. The jackals are after ABC’s entertainment president for failing to come up with any new hits as its most popular franchises begin to show signs of age (this Millionaire revival feels a bit desperate). The CW actually seems to have the least on the line, given their strong second season at a mini-net.

So many questions, whose answers will be determined in large part by an antiquated business model no one’s quite sure how to improve or innovate. But you’re on notice to set your DVRs, because the arbitrarily mandated end of our ‘official’ television season draws nigh.

TOYS | Moment of marketing

I was perusing the games section at my local big box retailer last week for a varation on a game they did not have. However, in my investigation, I uncovered the home version of Fox’s awful game show/public embarrassment outlet The Moment of Truth.

At a suggested price of roughly $20, you can supposedly lie-detect your friends and family at home with a “biometric lie detector” that “measures your body temperature and stress level.” This sounds like a crock, of course. If it’s so simple, they can box it up, what’s with all the lights and wires on the TV version?

If anyone’s played this, I’d be curious to hear how well it works (or doesn’t). The only insight provided by Amazon customers so far comes from one person who admittedly plays the game while under the influence of alcohol, which seems like it might affect the biometric readings, among other things.

On a positive note, I did get the Seinfeld Scene It game with a gift card someone gave me, and it has been quite entertaining, if a little too easy. Also, the knockoff theme music on the accompanying DVD is just different enough to be grating. On the whole, though, I’m pleased. It’s a fun interactive Seinfeld clip show.