Accentuating the Positives of the CW Merger! Plus, Big News for 'Veronica' and 'Joey'

I know we're all still recovering from the shocking news that the WB and UPN will no longer be in service come September since they are merging into one, new network. Remember how stunned we all were last month when we read this? I remember my heart racing as I wondered what would happen to my favorites, but losing two networks in order to form one can be a good thing, right? I mean, having many of your favorite shows all together on one network can't be a bad thing. And it's not, it's just that the merging of two networks, each with their own programming and development in the works, means that some shows aren't going to make the cut. That leaves us, the fans, in limbo over whether our personal favorites will live to see another season. Some of these favorites seem a little more secure than others, but nothing will be set in stone until the new network announces in May its fall 2006 schedule. In the meantime, it's fun to play network executive and plan out what shows you would keep and where they should air. Here's my night-by-night idea of how the new CW should look (using all of the currently "safe" shows and some others that I would keep). Note, if I were in charge, I would most likely scratch new development for this season since there are so many shows already on the air vying for a spot on the crowded schedule.

MONDAY
8 p.m. - Beauty and the Geek/One Tree Hill
9 p.m. - Everwood
Everwood used to flourish in this timeslot before the WB moved it to the Thursday slot this season. The show returns to the slot on March 27th, so I would keep it here next season. Beauty and the Geek, like all reality shows, doesn't run for a full season, so why not let One Tree Hill occupy the slot (and run uninterrupted like Fox's 24) for the other part of the season? I know it's not what One Tree Hill fans want to hear, but it's better than taking the show off the air completely. Plus, Hill might be able to bring a younger audience to the wonderful Everwood, which is never a bad thing. Both shows are nice counter programming to the night's usual tour-de-force: the CBS comedies.

TUESDAY
8 p.m. - Gilmore Girls
9 p.m. - Veronica Mars
This one seems like a match made in television heaven, so much so that even CBS Corp.'s Les Moonves paired the two shows together in his preliminary idea for the CW's schedule. Both shows are witty, well written and acted and highly touted by critics. The network could even bill the evening as the most critically acclaimed night of television. Gilmore Girls is the WB's second most watched show (behind 7th Heaven), so I would leave it in its current slot and pair Veronica with it in hopes of luring more viewers to the wonderful world of Mars. Just the thought of having these two shows back-to-back makes me all warm and fuzzy inside!

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. - America's Next Top Model
9 p.m. - Everybody Hates Chris
9:30 p.m. - Girlfriends
ANTM is already an established hit in this timeslot (and a guaranteed pick up for the CW according to new CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff), so I wouldn't change its slot. I'd pair Chris with it in hopes that ANTM would bring new viewers to this hilarious comedy the way it did for Veronica Mars this season. Girlfriends would make a nice pairing with Chris. The biggest problem with the slot is its fierce competition from ABC's Lost, but Mars was able to gain viewers with ANTM's help, so Chris/Girlfriends might be able to do the same.

THURSDAY
8 p.m. - Smallville
9 p.m. - Supernatural
These two shows seem meant 2B, so I would pair them together for audience flow reasons (as will the WB next month). Smallville has been generating a nice audience for the WB in this slot and the similar nature of both shows attracts similar fans. It seems that many Smallville viewers would stick around for Supernatural as well. The problem with Thursdays is that it is extremely crowded, especially at 9 p.m. There's CSI, Dancing with the Stars, The O.C and the NBC comedies already vying for viewers. Anything the CW puts in this slot will have an uphill battle, so picking a similar show to Smallville makes the most sense to me.

FRIDAY
8 p.m. - WWE Smackdown
This one is all but set in stone. Ostroff has said that she plans to keep this one on the air.

SATURDAY
No CW programming

SUNDAY
8 p.m. - Reba/companion comedy
9 p.m. - Charmed
With the merge, Reba will not be able to keep its Friday night slot because of the WWE coverage, so why not move it to Sunday nights and pair it with another comedy? The WB still has two new comedies that haven't even premiered yet this season, so either one (or both) could be big hits for the network and earn a slot here on Sundays. Charmed currently occupies this 9 p.m. slot, so I wouldn't change it.

As I mentioned above, my line-up does not include new development because I would put a hold on it until at least midseason. It also doesn't include shows that haven't premiered yet or just barely premiered such as the WB's The Bedford Diaries (March 29th), Modern Men (March 17th) and Pepper Dennis (April 4th) or UPN's Get this Party Started because none of these shows has had a chance to prove whether it deserves a spot. What shows would you like to see paired together on the new CW? How would you play programming director? Leave a comment with your ideas.

I know I promised thoughts on last night's Gilmore Girls, but I lied - at least for today. I didn't get a chance to watch the episode, but I have it saved on my TiVo, so I will bring you thoughts tomorrow instead. Blame it on the restaurant that didn't have reservations available until 8:30 p.m. last night! I do apologize, but here is the link to TV Guide's thoughts on the episode via its Watercooler column to tied you over.

About Last Night... Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by NBC's Olympic coverage and CBS' Price is Right special. At 9, NBC took the lead with its continued Olympic coverage, followed by Fox's House and CBS' Dr. Phil special. The final hour of the night went to NBC's Olympic coverage, followed by ABC's Boston Legal and CBS' NCIS (r). For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. -NBC's Olympic coverage continues with Alpine Skiing (Women's Downhill Gold Medal Final), Freestyle Skiing (Men's Moguls Gold Medal Final), Short Track Speed Skating (Women's 500m Gold Medal Final), Men's 5000m Relay Semifinals and Men's 1000m Competition Luge (Men's Doubles Gold Medal Final). Over on Fox, the top 24 contestants are revealed on American Idol.

@9 p.m. - Rousseau returns and leads Sayid to a mysterious captive that may be one of the Others on ABC's Lost (NOTE: this episode runs until 10:03 p.m.). Over on Fox, Booth and Brennan investigate an El Salvadoran gang member after he is stopped with a dug-up corpse of a young woman in the trunk of his car. UPN reruns a pivotal episode of Veronica Mars as Keith makes a startling discovery on the remains of the bus that went off the cliff. Buffy creator Joss Wheden guest stars. Don't forget to send me your Veronica Mars questions for creator Rob Thomas and the rest of the gang. I'll be visiting the set on February 27th, so leave me a comment with your questions or email them to veronicaquestions@yahoo.com.

@10 p.m. - Curiosity and frustration get the best of Kira as she searches for the truth about her father, Mariel and what is happening to the people of Homestead on ABC's Invasion.


QUICK CUTS

*Joey is finally on NBC's spring schedule. The network announced yesterday that it plans to bring back the Matt LeBlanc comedy on March 7th, where it will move to its new Tuesday night timeslot to finish out its sophomore season (replacing Fear Factor, which will return to the schedule this summer). The network also announced that fellow comedy The Office will no longer wrap up its season at the end of March, but will get an extra episode and bonus material that will carry it through May 11th. New comedy Teachers will premiere on March 28th where it will occupy the 9:30 slot on Tuesday nights. Scrubs will move to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays on that same evening. NBC will fill the 8:30 slot between Joey and Scrubs with encore presentations of Joey (March 7-21) and Scrubs (beginning March 28th).

*An update to a story that I brought you yesterday regarding the next three weeks of reruns for UPN's Veronica Mars. The network released a statement saying that the decision to air the repeats through the end of February is designed to help the series. The statement says, "Veronica Mars is facing a lot of competition in February, so to protect the series and to make sure that as many people as possible can watch the original episodes, we're going to air repeats for the next few weeks." The network goes on to say that when Veronica does return in March, it will air all original episodes leading up to the second season finale. In other news from Mars, series star Kristen Bell tells AOL Television that she's excited about the new CW network and what it could mean for her critically acclaimed show. She says, "I look at it as a really positive move. They'll both be looking at their line-ups and saying 'let's take all of our best shows.' So I think that the CW is going to have really good programming because it's going to take the crème de la crème of both UPN and WB, and fortunately, I consider our show one of those shows." For more with Kristen, including some spoilers for this season and next, visit AOL Television.

*UPN is releasing the list of contestants for the next cycle of America's Next Top Model. The 13 women vying for modeling contracts with Ford Models and Cover Girl and a fashion spread in Elle magazine include a 21-year old translator from Tampa, Florida; a 20-year old house painter from Brevard, North Carolina; a 24-year old chemist from Houston, Texas and a 24-year old retail assistant manager from New Orleans. The 6th cycle of America's Next Top Model begins March 8th with a special two-hour episode.

*CBS will shuffle its Monday and Wednesday night schedules next month to give its new Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine the prime spot between Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami. The decision pushes Courting Alex out of its 9:30 slot, but the show will move to Wednesday nights along with fellow former timeslot holder Out of Practice beginning March 22nd when the ratings-challenged Still Standing and Yes Dear go off the air. Christine premieres March 13th on CBS.

*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! An Olympics-fueled NBC won the week in total viewers led by Saturday and Sunday's Olympic coverage (tie #6) and Friday's Opening Ceremonies (tie #8). American Idol - Tuesday (#1), American Idol - Wednesday (#2), CSI (#3), Grey's Anatomy (#4), Desperate Housewives (#5), House (tie #8) and Without a Trace (#10) rounded out the top 10. To see the list of the top 20 shows from last week, click on over to USA Today.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Lost (With the return of Rousseau!) and belated thoughts on Gilmore Girls. Plus, all the latest television news!

SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details