If there ever was a poster
child for instability, it was Wednesday night. Fox was all over
the map, airing everything from "Normal, Ohio," "Grounded For Life," "Temptation
Island" to 
"Boot
Camp." CBS dropped to record low ratings with "Bette," "Welcome
To New York" & "Some of My Best Friends." The WB tried "Jack
& Jill" to low results, while ABC almost never got started until
it debuted "My Wife & Kids." The only bastion of success was NBC,
which grew to hugh proportions thanks to "The West Wing" & "Law &
Order." But oh boy, are things going to change.
8:00 8:30
9:00 9:30
10:00
CBS
| Touched By An Angel | Becker
| Ellen Again | 48 Hours |
ABC
|The Drew |(new comedy) | My Wife & |
(new comedy) |(new drama)|
| Carey Show |
| Kids |
| |
NBC
| Ed
| Third Watch
| Law & |
|
|
| Order |
Fox
| That 70s | Grounded | Temptation
Island / |
| Show | For Life
|
Boot Camp |
UPN
| 7 Days
| Special Unit 2 / Star Trek |
WB
| Dawsons Creek
| (new drama)
|
Next Season... Wednesday is going to become even more voliatile. In fact, we're predicting that not one net will emerge with their line-ups intact, save Fox. So hold you breath and take a trip down the Wednesday nightmare.
CBS had no level
of success last season, so it will likely scrap its movie and move all
over the 
place.
"Touched By An Angel" will likely move out of it's 4 season Sunday home
to a hostile Wednesday, if only because its dragging Sunday nights down
the drain. It's out of the top 30 for the first time in 5 seasons and drawing
less than 13 million viewers for new episodes. And for CBS's showcase timeslot,
13 million viewers just isn't good enough. Other than that, CBS seems determined
to launch a sitcom hit on the night. Since its also widely speculated that
"Becker" will move out of Mondays, the only other comedy slot on the network
is really this one. Follow that up with "Ellen Again" for the most awkward
pairing since... "Ellen" & "The Drew Carey Show." At 10pm, the net
will likely try "48 Hours," since it bombed on Thursdays.
Big changes are also afoot
on ABC. The net finally has a huge potential hit in "My Wife &
Kids," and look for it to capitalize on that. "The Drew Carey Show" is
getting old, and it maybe be heading into its last season. Couple that
with declining ratings, a move to 8pm is what will likely occur. That will
most likely be followed up with the Tuesday companion to the shortened
"Millionaire." In a golden oppertunity to turn "My Wife & Kids" big,
a move to 9pm will be in order. Couple that with a new famly sitcom
and a new drama, and you have a Wednesday night line-up that will still
come in second, and maybe third, to NBC.
NBC had great success
last season with its "Ed," "The West Wing" & "Law & Order" trio.
So 
why
would it mess with that? The network had promised one big surprize in its
fall line-up, and its speculated that it will be "The West Wing" moving
to another night. So why not? A good candidate to fill its place would
be the more "Law & Order"-esqe "Third Watch," which is unable to reach
its potential on Monday nights. NBC also needs an heir to the "ER" thrown,
and "Watch" might just be it.
With "Felicity" likely moving to Tuesdays, the WB will need a new 9pm drama. Could the sparkling "Gilmore Girls" be a fit? Nah.
And over on the UPN, all will likely stay the same, even with "Star Trek: Voyager" flying off into the sun. The new "Trek" is set to debut early next season. In the interim, a dose of the fledgling "Special Unit 2" may be in order.
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