Thwarted

For the first time since the 2002-03 edition, I will not have picked a full slate of cancelled shows for the LaPlaca Open. ABC's batch of early pick-ups for next season included Men in Trees, the quirky Ann Heche drama that has apparently done well enough on Thursday to get renewed.

On the positive side (for me, at least) is that Trees was the second-most picked show among pool participants. So at least I'm not alone.

So how's the entry looking at this point?

Cancelled: Happy Hour. This is the only show on my list that has been formally cancelled. It was the top pick among all entrants, and I certainly wasn't the only one who put it on the top of their list, earning 10 bonus points.

On hiatus: Justice, Help Me Help You, Twenty Good Years. There are as good as cancelled, in my book, but it's not official until they don't appear on the schedule at upfronts.

MIA but not dead yet: The Class, What About Brian. Neither is currently airing, but both could get picked up. Though I doubt it.

Still airing - for now: King of Queens, According to Jim. The former is ending its run, so it's just waiting for it to go bye-bye. The latter is looking to be the first show to thwart me twice, as I had it in that dreaded 2002-03 pool. That it wasn't among the shows ABC renewed last month gives me hope. What doesn't give me hope is ABC's lack of depth with sitcoms, and how they can't seem to launch a new one to save their lives. That just may keep Jim around.

Yet to air: Notes From the Underbelly. I was worried that this was never going to air, as that scores no points. Thankfully, ABC is finding time on the schedule for it now, in an unusual back-to-back burn-off in Men in Trees's spot.

I'd like to think that all of these shows will be gone for 2007-08, but clearly there's a couple of shows that could linger. Which leads to the question: can I still win this thing?

I think the answer is yes, but I would need NBC to never air The Singles Table (which, at just six episodes, seems like good summer burn-off fodder, but let's keep our fingers crossed) and there are five or six shows whose return would really help, most notably The War at Home and Gilmore Girls. I think the latter will come back, but I'm dubious about the former.