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Dancing with the Upfronts 4: Tuesday's Pilot Roundup

Welcome back to another installment of Dancing with the Upfronts, as I attempt to decipher the rumors and facts of the network series orders, renewals, and cancellations during this, the second most exciting week in the television calendar (the first would be the start of the season, natch). Set your phasers to stunned, gentle readers, as you peruse today's latest series news and check back here often for updates, as we unveil the fall schedules and debunk some renewal myths. (Updated at 5:00 pm PST) CW Ladies and gentlemen, I can hardly control my excitement as I happily announce... (drum roll, please)... that beloved mystery-drama series Veronica Mars WILL be moving to the CW this fall! According to an extremely high-ranking agency source who happens to reps one of the actors involved with the show, Veronica Mars will be returning to the airwaves this fall (albeit with a new TV address) to provide loyal viewers with another season of Neptune-based mysteries. (Editor's Note

Upfronts Scorecard: ABC

The surprise and excitement of network upfronts week continues! The past few weeks of conjecture and rumor will finally be dissipated as the networks officially announce their fall schedules to advertisers in New York over the next few days. NBC announced their fall schedule yesterday, so ABC's up today. ABC President of Entertainment Steve McPherson will unveil the new lineup later today, but, in the meantime, below is a sneak peek at the fall schedule. McPherson had this to say about ABC's schedule: "Our success has been driven by great storytelling and memorable characters that audiences have fallen in love with. We set out to develop a diverse group of shows that will continue in that vein and also to grow our audience. We want viewers making appointments with ABC Television every night of the week." Will that last part be true? Take a look below and listen to your heart about whether you'll be tuning in to ABC every night of the week. ABC's OFFICIAL SCHE

Pilot Inspektor: NBC's "Kidnapped"

One of these days I really wish that a network would actually develop and program a series that is intended to only last a single season. Sort of like what Prison Break was supposed to be originally. (For a better example, take a look at the BBC's compelling and brilliant political mystery-drama State of Play. ) In doing so, a network might actually make the audience think that anything could happen, anyone could be killed or eliminated at any time. The dramatic stakes are raised because, in watching, we know that there is going to be a finality to the end. On the surface, NBC's new serialized drama Kidnapped might appear to fall into this category, but there's also a rather dynamic character played by Six Feet Under 's Jeremy Sisto who might be able to launch the series into a multi-year franchise a la Jack Bauer on FOX's 24 . Sisto plays the enigmatic Knapp, a kidnapping and ransom expert whose very purpose for being is to return victims to their loved ones. He

Dancing with the Upfronts 3: Monday's Pilot Roundup

Welcome back to the latest installment of Dancing with the Upfronts, a recurring column where I try to make sense of the sometimes bewildering (and often conflicting) information coming out of the networks regarding series renewals, cancellations, and orders. With NBC's schedule already locked for fall, all eyes are now on the other four networks as they put the finishing touches on their schedules. (Updated as of 3:00 pm PST) CBS Lips have been sealed at the venerable Eye network as very little information has come out about orders or cancellations. However, CBS has just given series orders to two dramas, just a few days before their official schedule is announced. Jericho , from CBS Paramount Network TV and Junction Entertainment, has been given a greenlight for fall. The drama, which stars Ashley Scott (above), Skeet Ulrich, and Gerald McRaney (among others) concerns a small town after an apocalyptic event. Additionally, CBS granted a series order to drama pilot Untitled Peter

Upfronts Scorecard: NBC

Woo hoo, the upfronts are finally here! All these past few weeks of conjecture and rumor will finally be dissipated as the networks officially announce their fall schedules to advertisers in New York. (What will we all talk about now? This summer's reality series Treasure Hunters ? Maybe...) In advance of today's NBC upfronts, below is a sneak peek at the fall schedule that they'll be unveiling. But before we get to that, there was more good news in the form of a series order for the Untitled Tina Fey project, whose studio was obviously able to reach a deal with star Alec Baldwin. The series, which also stars Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Tim Meadows, will now be known by the rather curious moniker of 30 Rock . (Yes, I get that it's the network's NYC address--30 Rockefeller--but still, for the name of a series?) In a release issued by NBC, Kevin Reilly, President of NBC Entertainment, had this to say about the network's new schedule: "The face of NBC is cha

From Across the Pond: Jamie's School Lunch Project

I've been an ardent fan of Jamie Oliver since his early days as a twenty-something chef and television personality. Back then he was going by the less, er, dignified sobriquet of The Naked Chef (the food was pared down and naked, not him). Since then, he's published five cookbooks (with the sixth, "Jamie's Italian," to be published Stateside this fall) and appeared in two television programs ( The Naked Chef and Oliver's Twist ), started a charity which educates and employees at-risk youth at his restaurant Fifteen (he filmed the process in an award-winning documentary called Jamie's Kitchen ), launched a line of cookware, gotten married, and had two kids. Needless to say, he's a busy guy and extremely driven. This is a man who can do just about anything he sets out to do. Still, I had some reservations when I heard that Jamie was going to attempt the impossible: to spend a year and a half investigating and improving the poor quality of children'

The Chips Fall Where They May at "The Office" Year-End Party

Is it really season finale time already? I feel like we just made it through mid-season. We've already made it through a rather blah Gilmore Girls season ender and a sensationally good Veronica Mars but I have been waiting all week with sweet, sweet anticipation for the season finale of The Office ("Casino Night"), written by Mr. Michael Scott himself, the very talented Steve Carell. Considering I was initially opposed to the idea of an American version of The Office , I have to say that it has managed to not only become one of my favorite series over the past two seasons, but also managed to clog up my TiVo because I can't bring myself to delete most of these hilarious episodes. (Believe me, that's high praise indeed.) So did the season finale live up to my (admittedly very high) expectations? Oh, it surpassed them. Here are my top five reasons why The Office season finale made me laugh and cry... and then beat my head against my coffee table for having to wa