Fox's winter 2009 schedule seems, uh, problematic

Fox is, as usual, tearing up its schedule and starting over come the new year, when it has "American Idol" and "24" to bolster what probably could've been a stronger fall. (The Phillies/Rays World Series didn't help.)

In a way, Fox seems to have an embarrassment of riches, so much so that they're airing the highly anticipated Joss Whedon show "Dollhouse" (starring Eliza Dushku as someone genetically designed to eternally suffer from short-term memory loss so she can be dispatched on all sorts of tricky/sexy/violent assignations) on Fridays, where the network traditionally sucks wind. (More bad news for "Dollhouse:" It's following "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," which was picked up for the full season despite fairly moribund ratings.)

("I'd be really hacked off that Fox gave me such a crappy timeslot, but it's already slipped my mind.")

Can't imagine that Whedon - who got jerked around by Fox a few years back on his short-lived show "Firefly" - is pleased to have his new series dumped on a night where 5 million viewers is shruggingly considered acceptable. And "Dollhouse" was one of Fox's "Remote-Free TV" shows, where advertisers were to pay a premium to appear in a program with not so much commercial clutter - can't imagine people paying a premium to appear on Fox Fridays.

Fox's other new show, "Lie to Me," stars Tim Roth as Fox's answer to Simon Baker's "The Mentalist" and has the bad luck to debut opposite the season premiere of ABC's "Lost."

Also, Fox has already pushed the "Family Guy" spinoff, "The Cleveland Show," to next season (but have already given it a full-season pickup) and the other new animated series, "Shut Up, Sit Down," has yet to find a spot on the schedule (though obviously they'll shoehorn it in on Sunday somewhere, sometime).

Fox 2009

Monday
8 p.m. "House" (Jan. 19)
9 p.m. "24" (returns with two two-hour installments on Jan. 11/12)

Tuesday
8 p.m. "American Idol" (two-hour premiere Jan. 13)
9 p.m. "Fringe"

Wednesday
8 p.m. "American Idol" (two-hour premiere Jan. 14)
9 p.m. "Lie To Me" (Jan. 21)

Thursday
8 p.m. "Bones" (Jan. 15)
9 p.m. "Hell's Kitchen" (Jan. 29)

Friday
8 p.m. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Feb. 13)
9 p.m. "Dollhouse" (Feb. 13)

Saturday - still "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted," forever and ever, amen

Sunday - still "Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Family Guy" and "American Dad," but also:
7 p.m. "Hole in the Wall" (Jan. 18)