Upfronts: The Aftermath

Some half-formed ill-advised summation of last week.

Who won? Here's how I rate where the networks are based on their tentative 2012-13 schedules.

5. NBC. You want to brand yourself as the network for comedy? Fine, but it's probably a bad time to try this when (a) your critically praised but low-rated sitcoms are wrapping (30 Rock), should be wrapping (The Office), or moved to a night where 98 percent of the viewership will be time shifted (Community), and (b) the new sitcoms you roll out are uninspiring. I'm also a little worried that you've buried your most interesting new show, Do No Harm, after Celebrity Apprentice and Fashion Star. That should do wonders for the ratings.

4. The CW. I like that they've given most nights a theme, and that they're using Friday for lower-rated shows that could move if/when something tanks. What I don't like is that their new shows don't exactly jump out at you. I suppose in a couple cases you can argue they're rebooting shows (or show ideas) for a younger generation, and maybe that will work. I suppose I should just be happy that they've stopped trying to build shows around social media.

3. ABC. Still concerned about their older shows being able to maintain ratings, and I don't care for the premises of most of their new sitcoms. They do have a couple of dramas I'm looking forward to sampling, and they have a couple of very solid days in Wednesday and (non-football) Sunday.

2. Fox. They've done the smart thing by making X Factor and American Idol complimentary pieces rather than frenemies. I don't know if this will help slow down The Voice, which they're not taking on head to head, but there's at least a season-long blueprint of how Fox is handling their music shows. Throwing Glee into the mix on Thursday is worrisome, given the competition. I also like that they're maintaining a sci-fi(ish) Friday night, even if it marginalizes the genre. Fringe has gotten to this point thanks to all of the time shifters, certainly Touch is an able candidate to do the same.

1. CBS. Easy to be the winner when you have so few shows to replace. It also helps that they can move shows around and create nights where new shows can be protected a bit and, even if they tank, don't create too many problems for the night overall. Some of the nights are looking a little hoary (Wednesday most notably), but I don't think CBS is in any danger of not being the most watched network next season.

Where are the night and time bloodbaths?

Three places where I think the greatest clashes will emerge:

1. Monday, 8pm. You've got ABC's older reality programs (DWTS/The Bachelor) up against NBC's only real hit (The Voice) versus CBS and their lead in of How I Met Your Mother and Fox with Bones. Lots of mature programming in there, it'll be interesting to see who gives.

2. Tuesday, 9pm. Tuesday always seemed like a wasteland to me, but now and 9 you have a sitcom battle royale, with ABC, NBC, and Fox throwing shows in there. ABC's shows are returning but (a) aren't that strong and (b) have moved from other times. NBC's are both brand new, while Fox likely has the upper hand with the returning New Girl and Mindy Kaling's show.

3. Thursday, 9pm. Always a battle here, now joined by Fox moving Glee. Will it cut into Grey's female-friendly demo? Will the NBC comedies get put off to DVR viewing? Or will Glee's cooling ratings and seemingly random plot generation make the move another step towards an early cancellation?

What new shows am I most/least interested in?

Most:

1. Last Resort, mostly because it stars Andre Braugher, who is awesome.
2. Elementary, in the hopes that it can regularly provide solid Holmes-related entertainment in the void left by the Sherlock series on PBS.
3. Do No Harm, even though I suspect it will not last long if left on Sunday at 10.

Least:

1. The Neighbors, which I'm pretty sure is on ABC's schedule because someone lost a bet.
2. Emily Owens, M.D., because I am not a 14 year old girl.
3. Guys With Kids, as I didn't care for the 4000 or so other sitcoms about men trying to reclaim their manhood.