This headline about Fox's fall schedule isn't very good, either; the next one will be better, promise

Here's the story on Fox's upfront that'll appear in the paper. More on the actual upfront (which would've been the shortest yet -- quite the turnaround for the network that puttered around for like three hours just a couple of years ago -- had they not trotted out "So You Think You Can Dance" contestants at the very end) in just a bit.

Fox announced on Thursday an innovative plan that actually harkens back to the earlier days of television: It will place fewer commercials in two dramas debuting during the 2008-09 season.

Called "Remote-free TV," the initiative was introduced in New York by Fox chairman Peter Liguori and the network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly. It will be tested on "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams' new FBI conspiracy thriller "Fringe" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse," which stars Elisha Dushku as a member of a team of secret agents who are implanted with new personalities and abilities before each mission, after which their memories are erased.

Episodes of the dramas will contain half as much commercial time during each episode, or about five minutes of national advertising (in addition to commercials from local affiliates). The strategy is intended to prevent viewers from channel-surfing as much during commercial breaks, and the hope is that advertisers will pay a premium to spots run amid less clutter in two shows that already have generated a lot of advance buzz.

The network, which has long endured the challenge of launching new shows in the fall which invariably get interrupted by baseball playoffs and the World Series, will introduce but two new shows in September: "Fringe," which will air on Tuesdays after "House," and the comedy "Do Not Disturb," about the neurotic employees at a trendy Manhattan hotel. On Nov. 23, Fox will air a two-hour "24" movie that will retain the show's real-time conceit and will be shot in South Africa.

But for Fox, the season really begins in January, when "American Idol" and "24" - which didn't appear this season due to the writers strike - return. The network will also debut "Dollhouse," which will air on Mondays before "24."

Other midseason series include the animated comedies, "The Cleveland Show," which spins off a character from "Family Guy," and "Sit Down, Shut Up," a comedy about burned-out schoolteachers based on a live-action Australian comedy. It was developed for Fox by "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz and will feature the voices of that show's alumni Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler.

Fox also introduced two dramas that are currently in development, with an eye toward turning one if not both into midseason replacement series: "Lie To Me," about behavioral experts recruited by law-enforcement officials to divine when suspects are lying in criminal investigations, and "Courtroom K," a legal drama from "House" executive producer Paul Attanasio.

The network additionally announced that next season, most "American Idol" results shows will be limited to 30 minutes. Reilly said that one of two comedies in development would likely follow: "Boldly Going Nowhere," from the creators of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," or the dysfunctional-family sitcom "Outnumbered."

Departing series include "Back to You," "New Amsterdam," "Canterbury's Law," "K-Ville," "The Return of Jezebel James," "Unhitched," "The Next Great American Band" and "Nashville."