Upfronts: When the networks present their fall scheduling to advertisers. This traditionally happens in May and is usually the first time the fall schedule is announced publicly. The official network schedules indicate which current shows will return and which new pilots were picked up (see below).

Trades: The publications dedicated to publishing entertainment news, namely Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

Pick-Ups: When a show is “picked up” it means that the network has bought a new series based on a produced pilot. Orders are usally for half a seasons work of episodes (13) or, in cases where the network feels confident about a show’s success, it will get a full season order.

Bubble: When the fate of a show that’s already on the air is uncertain, it’s said to be “on the bubble.” Either the network will order another season of that show or not. Until the fall schedules are announced, those shows are in limbo, or “on the bubble.”

Who’s on the bubble? NOT New Adventures of Old Christine. Phew. Until Tuesday, the comedy (which also happens to be the show I’m currently specing) was on the bubble again. While it’s still uncertain whether or not the show will return to CBS, ABC has committed to picking up the show for another full season, should CBS decide against renewing it.

How many new laffers did the Peacock go for? Translation: How many new comedies did NBC pick up. Answer: NBC did their upfronts early and put two new half-hour comedies on the schedule.

What pilots have been picked up? It’s still too early to tell… to employ further television speak, “Stay Tuned!”

Thank our mighty stars that Cal Lightman* has finally gone where House, Bones, and The Mentalist have dared not!  Oh.  Hmmm.  I guess they all totally dared.  Darn!

*Cal Lightman is Tim Roth’s character on Lie to Me.

In the meantime, Obama’s inaugural comittee has sold the exclusive rights to broadcast the inauguration celebrations next week to HBO.  For the duration of the inaugural events, HBO will be available to all cable and satillite subscribers, whether or not they subscribe to HBO.  Democracy!

The science fiction/spy thriller only lasted for seventeen episodes but has remained a cult classic for over forty years.  McGoohan stars as Number Six, a British Secret Agent who, after resigning, finds himself being held captive in “The Village.”  In each episode, Number Six stubbornly attempts to escape from his surreal prison.  His mysterious captors, meanwhile,  pursue ingenious means of interrogation as they attempt to understand the reasons for Number Six’s resignation.

The Prisoner was groundbreaking when it initally aired in 1967-1968 and still manages to seem fresh and modern today.  The Village (not unlike Lost’s Island) is controlled by manipulative leaders and under constant surveillance.  Number Six’s attempts to escape are framed by innovative story-telling and beautiful production design.  Whether or not the remake manages to compare to the original, it’s great that AMC is actively promoting their source material.  Check it out while you can!

Toni, Tony, Toné

1. Lost (premieres January 21 on ABC)  Every once in a while I think I know what the hell is going on on this show.  I am usually wrong.  But half the fun of watching is lurking in the Lost-obsessed chat rooms after watching an episode, trying to decifer what the megafans make of screen grabs and easter eggs.  Doc Jensen on ew.com leads the pack with his bizarre but accessible assessments.
2. Flight of the Conchords (premieres January 18 on HBO)  I don’t have HBO anymore.  We’re in a recession.  But the folks at Home Box Office were kind enough to provide us prols with a sneak preview of the first episode here.  The second season is the last, otherwise this might be a fun show to spec.
3. United States of Tara (premieres January 18 on Showtime)  A comedy about a woman with multiple personalities starring Toni Collete and John Corbett, executive produced by Diablo Cody and Steven Spielberg.  Weird.  I don’t have Showtime either, but Reuters reports that the show will be available for instant viewing on Netflix.  See surprisingly good trailer after the jump.
4. 30 Rock (premeires January 8 on NBC)  It’s back!  This week!  With Salma Hayek? And Jon Hamm in February!

Look up in the sky! It's a really big pushpin!

I don’t get this adveristing campaign from Capital One.  Am I supposed to consider an assault of airborne office supplies, destroying much property along the way, a positive thing?

Image from Post Magazine

My assumption from watching it is that every IKEA kitchen layout is endowed with a specter who will comment in syncopated verse about the existential threat of children stealing chocolate.

At the Huxtables

An excellent interlude in the second act graced this week’s episode of Everybody Hates Chris (CW Fridays 8:00 EST).

The ‘A’ storyline of this week’s show was Chris going with a girl named Jenise Huxtable to the homecoming dance. The second act opens with Chris coming to pick up Jenise at her house, which lo and behold, is a spitting image of the Huxtables’ home on The Cosby Show. It’s all there – the jazzy intro music! Dr Clint Huxtable (played by Orlando Jones) ambling down the stairway! His wife, Blair, a lawyer, gliding in from the kitchen through the swing door! Capping off it all off, the show, which is usually shot on film with one-camera, takes on a three-camera format and adds a laugh track.

Everybody Hates Chris elevates the parody of The Cosby Show beyond the visual evocation and manicured impersonations. The disjuncture between the Huxtables’ social standing and Chris’ is played to great satirical effect: Blair literally cannot conceive of what Chris’ parents do for a living, while Clint wonders whether Chris comes from Crack People. This is sort of thing exemplifies Everybody Hates Chris at its best: it’s rare enough for a show to acknowledge social stratification, much less to find humor in an amiable yet incisive way.

Photo courtesy of thecw.com

What’s missing from the argument, however, is any comment from Fey herself. Luckily for us, Tina Fey’s meta-comedy 30 Rock addressed the issue of corporate compliance in Episode 2.04, the Emmy nominated “Rosemary’s Baby,” with Carrie Fisher. In it, Fey and Fisher’s characters debate the pros and cons of going with the flow. Fey’s Liz Lemon wins a special “Followship Award” for her obedience to GE, while Fisher’s Rosemary insists that the only way to fight the system is through outright revolution (her proposal to start a new network, Bitch TV is the beginning of her character’s descent into total madness). By the end of the episode, Lemon finds her way back into the fold, commended by boss and Lorne Michaels’ stand-in Jack Donaghy for her ability to have the guts and brains to work inside the system.

In interviews, Fey has often used the word “obedient” to describe herself. This episode, specifically Liz Lemon’s award for “Followship,” plays off what seems to be one of Tina Fey’s essential qualities – the ability to both comply with and subvert the demands of her corporate bosses. To this end, the premise of 30 Rock proves itself to be an ingenious platform on which to debate some of the larger issues television writers face in a post-Tivo universe.