The lowdown on the upfronts

For the broadcast networks, the past TV season has been one that all involved would pretty much like to forget. But, outside of Fox, no one's looking ahead with much gleeful anticipation, either.

The writers strike has played havoc with the networks' ability to cobble together schedules for the 2008-09 season, with fewer pilots to choose from to fill more holes in the schedules.

The Hollywood Reporter notes, however, that Fox should be fully loaded: It has a "Family Guy" spinoff, "Cleveland," two dramas from cult-fave showrunners, J.J. Abrams' "Fringe" and Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" (starring Eliza Dushku), a Bernie Mac sitcom and two potential animated series based on live-action sitcoms - "Sit Down, Shut Up," developed by "Arrested Development's" Mitch Hurwitz and based on an Australian sitcom about dysfunctional high-school teachers, and, um, "The Pitts," based on a mercifully short-lived Fox sitcom a few seasons back. The idea being, I guess, that the latter will be more palatable if the characters really are cartoons instead of being broadly cartoonish.

At CBS, there's yet another Jerry Bruckheimer show, "Eleventh Hour," "Exit 19," starring Geena Davis as a single mom/police detective, "The Mentalist," which sounds a little like a serious version of "Psych" and starring Simon Baker and the comedies "Single White Millionaire" (starring Fred Savage) and "Worst Week."

ABC has been the busiest and most ambitious, developing 20 projects including the "Harry Potter"-inspired "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas" and David E. Kelley's take on the British lost-in-time cop drama "Life on Mars."

The Beleaguered© CW has only three pilots in the works: a "Beverly Hills 90210" remake, a "Gossip Girl"-y "How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls" and medical drama "Austin Golden Hour." The CW just doesn't care.

(NBC has already announced its schedule for 2008 and beyond.)

In the past, upfronts were lavish affairs, with comedy bits, musical numbers and plenty of star power. No longer: Now that the networks are crying that they're just as poor as you and I, they're downgrading from a circus to an afternoon tea. Only Fox will present a traditionally blustery upfront and blow-out party (though it'd be nice if they could keep it from becoming the bloated leviathan of two years ago). ABC's presentation will last less than an hour; CBS's will include talking up its other media to advertisers; neither will have a post-upfront party. Meanwhile, The Beleaguered© CW will only have a party (to celebrate the simple fact that they're still on the air?), which they'll interrupt briefly to reveal what little they have to offer.