TV with MeeVee

Upfronts Update: CBS Announces Fall Schedule

CBS has ordered five new series - two comedies and three dramas - toadd to its 18 returning shows. Like the other nets we've seen so far, this is largely a stand-pat schedule shaped by the behind-the-scenes tumult of the writers strike. The biggest change might be the hour of comedy from 8-9 on Wednesdays.

Mondays: "Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," "Two and a Half Men," the new comedy "Worst Week" (right) and "CSI Miami."

Tuesdays: "NCIS," the new drama "The Mentalist" and "Without A Trace," which moves from Thursdays.

Wednesdays: "The New Adventures of Old Christine," the new comedy "Project Gary," "Criminal Minds" and "CSI NY."

Thursdays: "Survivor," "CSI" and the new drama "Eleventh Hour."

Fridays: "Ghost Whisperer," the new "The Ex List" and "Numb3rs."

Saturdays: Two hours of "Crimetime" - i.e. repeats - and "48 Hours Mystery."

Sundays: "60 Minutes," "The Amazing Race," "Cold Case" and "The Unit," which moves from Tuesdays.

The announcement also says this: "In addition to the new series for fall, the network announced the pick up of two programs for midseason. The new drama, HARPER'S ISLAND, is a murder mystery that unfolds as friends and family attend week-long festivities at a destination wedding on a secluded and picturesque island off the coast of Seattle, infamous for a homicidal maniac's rampage seven years ago. Also picked up for midseason is the comedy RULES OF ENGAGEMENT." It doesn't say anything, however, about reviving Fox's "Back To You."

For details and pictures of the new shows, keep reading.

"Moonlight" Wanes at CBS

The sun came up on the CBS schedule this afternoon, and crime-solving-vampire drama "Moonlight" is history. Lots of backstage problems may have been the killer for the show, which was at best a so-so ratings performer, despite the loyalty of the brooding-TV-vampire audience.

CBS announces its schedule tomorrow and all the ins and outs are leaking now. As we already told you, "How I Met Your Mother" and "New Adventures of Old Christine" are coming back, but so, amazingly, is the dismal "Rules of Engagement." "The Unit" will also return.

It appears James Woods' "Shark" is gonzo, however.

Britney Is Gone, "How I Met Your Mother" Isn't

Relax, people. "How I Met Your Mother" is coming back, regardless of how lousy Britney Spears was on last night's episode. And she was pretty lousy.

There are several reports that CBS has passed along an official bro handshake to the producers, even though the announcement won't be made till later this week. You have to wonder what the hell took the network so long; supposedly one bigwig just doesn't think the show is funny, unlike every critic in America and a growing cadre of viewers. Because, you know, it's what executives think is funny that makes a show a success or not. Sigh.

I really hope we've seen the last of "Abby," the nutso receptionist played by nutso pop tart Spears. Despite the ratings bump she brought in her cameo a few weeks ago, last night she simply dragged down the show. Compared to the travails of the ever-winning Allyson Hanigan's Lily on the episode, Spears' acting was skit-night-at-rehab bad. Certainly Neil Patrick Harris has been punished enough for saying publicly a couple of weeks ago that he thought the show was doing just fine without this kind of stunt casting; he shared just about every scene with her.

In a semi-related CBS comedy note, lots of folks are surprised about "New Adventures of Old Christine." It was widely expected to move to ABC, but instead CBS reupped it with a full 22-episode order for the season.

Tonight's Picks: Monday, May 12

First of the two-part season finale of "House" finds him surviving a bus crash but afflicted with a patch of amnesia in addition to his leg problem, drug addiction and misanthropy. The must-see of the night.

Low-rated but entertainingly sleazy "Gossip Girl" tonight finds Serena's past coming back to haunt her. Oh, and Lisa Loeb.

On "How I Met Your Mother,"  Britney Spears returns as Abby, and she and Barney go to the bar together just to tick off Ted.

Morning Links on Jason Castro's Last Day on "Idol"

Man, last night was uhg-leee on "American Idol." Dreadlocks Boy is definitely going home, unless there's some sort of rift in the time-space-tweener girl continuum. So we're counting down the minutes to the results show. In the meantime...

• "Hannah Montana" ratings took a big hit this week. Could it really be that ginned-up Vanity Fair photo controversy? Does that at least give us an excuse to run the picture again? (TV By The Numbers)
• Obsessive analysis of the identity of the last Cylon mole on "Battlestar Galactica." (Cellounge)
• The "Veronica Mars" Cruise. Oh dear. (Cruise to Mars)
• "Smallville" season finale spoilers. (TV Addict)
• Josh Radnor reassures fans about the return of "How I Met Your Mother." (TV Squad)
• Last night's episode gives fresh evidence why "Reaper" must be renewed. More Gladys!!! (TV Squad)
• Our friend Tim Goodman's Monday column had some plain-talk common sense for network executives. Which will of course be ignored. Sigh. (SF Gate)

Pic: Britney On "How I Met Your Mother"

"How I Met Your Mother" gets Spearsed again. The caption: "When Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Abby (guest star Britney Spears) realize that they have one thing in common - their mutual hatred of Ted (Josh Radnor) - the "couple" decides to go to the bar to flaunt their new relationship in Ted's face." "HIMYM," coming next Monday on CBS. And coming back next season on CBS, presumably, since the ratings bump from Britney's first appearance on the show a couple of weeks ago seemed to be enough to push the show off the bubble and into the "certain renewal" category.

The Brit *Is* Back on "How I Met Your Mother"

Producer Craig Thomas confirmed to Kristin at E! Online that, as rumored, Britney Spears IS back on the set at "How I Met Your Mother" today, shooting what will air as the next-to-last episode of the season. Supposedly Abby, her character, and Barney will pair up at least long enough to rub it in Ted's face. Which is pretty ironic since Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Barney, got in hot water a few days ago for saying that "HIMYM" doesn't need stunt casting like this to be a good show. They made him eat his words, too.

Fact is, Britney's last guest appearance brought a million new viewers to the show, seemingly ensuring a renewal for next season. So I guess we should all be glad she's back to close the deal. Right? Right?

(Right, Josh Radnor as Ted and Her Britness as Abby last time around.)

"How I Met Your Mother" And "Sandcastles In The Sand"

There's really nothing much you can say about "Sandcastles In The Sand," the cheese-o-riffic second music video from Robin Sparkles, the Canadian-pop-nymphet alter ego of Cobie Smulders' Robin Scherbatsky on "How I Met Your Mother." It's not as good as her earlier "Let's Go To The Mall," but after all, it is the B side.

The Brit Is Back On "How I Met Your Mother" (UPDATED)

People reported over the weekend that, as expected, a deal has been made for a one-episode return to "How I Met Your Mother" by Britney Spears. Her March 24 appearance as a receptionist obsessed with Josh Radnor's Ted gave the show a big ratings boost. The episode helped "HIMYM" become one of the few shows to do really well on returning from the writers strike. In recent weeks there was a minor controversy as Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Barney, made some actually rather mild-mannered comments to the effect that he doesn't think the show really needs this sort of stunt casting. Harris was quickly forced to eat his words, and now the Brit Is Back, at least according to People. No word from CBS yet.

UPDATE: TV Guide says Brit hasn't yet signed on the dotted line, but that Sarah Chalke has.

Here's a montage of Britney's "HIMYM" appearance the first time:

Good Morning, Good Morning

• More on CW's decision to stop streaming "Gossip Girl" comes in this post and this one. The latter suggests it's all a ploy to whip up interest in the under-watched show. OMFG, really?! (TV By The Numbers)
• Maybe it wasn't Gary Dourdan's idea to leave "CSI" after all. (TV Guide)
• Leelee Sobieski: Obviously A Robot. (Glitterati)
• I've been trying to decide which Robin Sparkles/"HIMYM" post to link to. Let's try this one. (BuzzSugar)
• Some new deets on Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse." (TV Squad)
• Spoilery "Lost" speculation: Could Sawyer be on his way out? (Buddy TV)
• Addison's returning (temporarily) to Seattle Grace and "Grey's Anatomy." Yawwwwwwn. (Buddy TV)

Morning Schmear Of TV News

• Live ads are making a comeback as one way to beat the DVR, and Jimmy Kimmel will be the next to offer them. (AdWeek)
• Writers strike cost "Desperate Housewives" some viewers, it appears. (Hollywood Reporter)
• CBS unveils big summer plans including - finally - plans to put "Swingtown" on the air. (Hollywood Reporter)
• First peek at the new girl on "Gossip Girl" - Michelle Trachtenberg of "Buffy." But - to your right - we found one they didn't have. (TV Addict)
• A look at the season finale of "New Amsterdam." (TV Squad)
• Our friend Tim Goodman lowers himself to praising CBS Monday comedies. Sort of. Still snobby, dude. (SFGate)
• Anderson Cooper for Katie Couric? Theo Epstein wouldn't make that trade. (TV Squad)
• Verdict on last night's "How I Met Your Mother." (TV Squad)

Afternoon Link-A-Teria

• Checking in with "Scrubs." No news on next season yet. (Buddy TV)
• He's not fucking Jimmy Kimmel, but he does like him. (Boston Globe)
• Oops she's in negotiations to do it again. Britney might return to "How I Met Your Mother." (Televisionista)
• Date set for AFTRA talks, anyway. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)
• Slate on Ben Silverman's "infront" announcement. (Slate)

"How I Met Your Mother" Bracket More Interesting Than NCAA

The web site, tedmosbyisajerk.com, is a little undercooked compared to some of the TV side projects we've seen lately, but what makes it truly a "How I Met Your Mother" thing is that it was really Barney Stinson who treated some woman in jerky fashion. He was just using Ted's name when he did whatever he did that inspired her to create the web site. Kind of ironic. This is supposed to be a show about Ted - the "I" in the title - but once again he's the least interesting character on it.

Monday's episode was a gem, as Barney used March Madness-style bracket mania to get his pals to help him figure out which of his past conquests was dissing him to potential future conquests. You could almost imagine them doing the episode even if they weren't on CBS, home of the NCAA tournament. Almost.

Britney's Worth A Million To "How I Met Your Mother"

She still draws an audience, even if it's people tuning in in hopes of seeing a train wreck. Last night's Britney Spears-enhanced episode of "How I Met Your Mother" drew 10.62 million viewers, a season high for the show. That's up nearly a million from last week's previous high. (Nielsen Fast National Ratings via TV Decoder). Check out our review here. And here's some video:

Britney Spears on "How I Met Your Mother": Troubled, Baby, One More Time

 Was it funny or just nasty that the producers of CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" cast Britney Spears as a minor-league psycho in her guest spot last night? There weren't any actual jokes about her being psychologically disturbed, but her character - a receptionist named Abby - had the overbright smile and oblivious persona of a cult member or celebrity stalker.  ("Young Frankenstein" fans, are you thinking what I'm thinking? That the character was... Abby Normal?) A minor kindness by protagonist Ted (Josh Radnor) led her to believe that they were soulmates, and the last shot of the episode was him sprinting down the sidewalk away from her pursuit.

Abby was reality-challenged, an odd choice of role for Spears, who recently spent time on a mental ward in real life after an involuntary commitment by her family. The singer's performance was sitcom-passable, as other critics in print and online said this morning, but hardly nuanced or believable, and to me the whole bit just seemed creepy.

Morning Reading

• Ratings news is good for CBS Monday sitcoms, especially on-the-bubble "How I Met Your Mother," which adds Britney's firepower next week. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Script deets give a hint at how "90210" spinoff will look. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Mariah Carey on "American Idol." Hmmm, ironic, given what the judges keep telling the kids. (TV Squad)
• Holy crap. HBO is abandoning "12 Miles of Bad Road," a Linda Bloodworth Thomason ("Designing Women") project started back in 2006, starring Lily Tomlin. And they're killing it with six episodes in the can. It must have been really bad. (TV Decoder)
• Hey, I know someone who actually has a digital TV converter box! (TV Barn)
• Robin Williams will guest on the 200th ep of "Law & Order: SVU." (TV Guide)

Morning Reading: Miley No Longer Destiny's Child

• Everybody calls her Miley Ray Cyrus, so she's ditching that pesky birth name, with mom and dad's permission. Makes signing all those checks so much easier. (E! Online)
• More bad news for "Jericho" fans: The Numbers. (Hollywood Reporter)
• "American Idol" gadfly Votefortheworst.com has chosen Amanda Overmyer to support this year. Maybe just because she has Sanjaya hair. (E! Online)
• Wow, our second Joss Whedon item of the day. Apparently he's got Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion in a three-part web musical he wrote during the strike. (GMMR)
• George Clooney not to be dragged into "ER" finale. Once again, he's making all the right moves. (TV Squad)

Finally, everybody on the Internet this morning is posting the CBS pic of Britney Spears on the set of next week's "How I Met Your Mother" episode, with Josh Radnor and Sarah Chalke, so here it is. Now is it just me, or does she look like her meds just kicked in?

Morning reads

• The evil get eviller. (AP)
• The Emmys show switches from the Shrine to the Nokia. Just so you can tell your limo driver where to go. (Reuters)
• Britney Spears has been hired to ruin guest star on "How I Met Your Mother." (GMMR, from whom we stole the awesome graphic)
• And her casting has already averted a guest appearance by Alicia Silverstone. (TV Guide)
• Big Thursday for "Lost," as we learn the final two members of the Oceanic Six. (Buddy TV)
• "Lost" is also the most time-shifted episode, with a DVR audience of 3.7 million!! (TV By The Numbers)
• Maybe it's time for us to get paroled from "Prison Break"? (Buddy TV)
• Tom Goodman went quality in drowning his sorrows over the end of "The Wire." (The Bastard Machine)
• Nikki Finke says you shouldn't be too happy about the launch of Skynet Hulu. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

CBS Announces Post-Strike Schedule

CBS today unveiled a no-frills list of premiere dates and episode counts for its shows returning after the strike. The plans are ambitious, especially for the comedies. "How I Met Your Mother," "Big Bang Theory" and "Two And A Half Men" (left) are all set to return on March 17, producing nine more episodes for the season. That's going to call for a lot of extra Skittles in the writers' room, I'd say. Another Monday show, "CSI Miami," is due back March 24 and expected to produce eight more hourlong episodes, which is, come to think of it, almost twice as much television as nine episodes of a sitcom.

Other shows' return dates and episode counts: "Cold Case," March 30, five. "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY," April 2 and seven each. "CSI" and "Without A Trace," April 3 and six. "Ghost Whisperer" and "Numb3rs," April 4 and six. "NCIS," April 8 and seven. "Moonlight," April 11 and four. "Rules of Engagement," April 14 and six. "Shark," TBA and four.

CBS notes that "'The Unit,' 'Cane' and 'Shark' are on previously announced hiatus to accommodate the mid-season launches of 'Big Brother,' 'Jericho' and 'Dexter.'" What CBS doesn't explain is why "Shark" is listed as producing more episodes while "The Unit" and "Cane" aren't. Hmmm. Contrary to some reports, CBS also notes that the offbeat drama "Swingtown," which we've heard little about in recent months, will also resume production. Still no premiere date, however.

Writers Strike: How I Met Your Mother On The Picket Line

Monday's holiday message from the "How I Met Your Mother" creators to their MySpace friends was forwarded to me by a recipient, and it's pretty good look into the conflicting feelings everybody has at the moment. And how can you not like a message from a couple of Hollywood hotshots that uses words like "suckiest?"

Date: Dec 11, 2007 3:26 PM
Subject: Letter to the Fans from the Producers

Hello HIMYM fans. Motherheads? Howsiers? What are you calling yourselves these days? So first things first, thank you for the incredible support you guys have given us over the years. We mean it. When you create a show, you never think you're doing anything more than telling a funny story. But apparently we've created a community, and it seems to be a community of pretty decent people. It's a community we'd probably want to have a beer with. Our fans seem cool and smart and funny, and it drives us to want to make the show better, to never let it stagnate, to always push ourselves to try something interesting and new. So thank you.

Anyway, we'd like to take a little moment here to come out from behind the desk, cool-11th-grade-english-teacher-style, roll up our sleeves and "rap" at you guys for a bit. We want to talk about the strike. By now you probably know what strike we're talking about, but if you don't, watch this movie: http://youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk

What it boils down to is this: Tonight’s episode of “How I Met Your Mother” is the last new one for a while. Starting next week, we grimly trudge off the map and into the desert of reruns and reality TV.
We can’t tell you how difficult this last month and a half has been for us, both personally and professionally. We work with the best people in this business – the best at their jobs, the best at being nice and decent human beings – and the thought of all of them out of work over the holidays is almost too much to bear. We miss them all every day.

That’s by far the suckiest part of the strike – nothing tops that.

"How I Met Your Mother" Product Placement With Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum and the Victoria's Secret Angels guest-star on tonight's "How I Met Your Mother," in preparation for the December 4th airing of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Both the fashion show and the sitcom are CBS productions, of course. I can't decide if the obvious cross-promotion is brilliant or irritating or some of both.

In the episode, Barney gets tickets to the lingerie show, but can't manage to flirt with any of the beauties surrounding him. Heidi Klum, of course, sympathizes, saying there's an impossibly long German word for being unable to make a move when surrounded by beautiful women. I think I heard "scheisse" in there somewhere.

Special Music Post: "Sweeney Todd," "Pushing Daisies," And "How I Met Your Mother"

JustJared has a video of Johnny Depp singing in "Sweeney Todd." It's kind of creepy, and I'm not saying that just because I dislike musicals.

You Ain't No Picasso provides a list of the songs used in "Pushing Daisies" episodes.

BuzzSugar pointed me to this hilarious video titled You Just Got Slapped from the "How I Met Your Mother" boys. It reminds me of a slightly cleaner version of "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" in its comical man-child posturing.

Halloween's-Scariest-Trick-Is-The-Writers-Strike Links Fest

• Nikki Finke says no strike for a couple of days, anyway. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)
• "Heroes" continues to slip in the ratings. (Televisionista)
• Deep thinking about "Reaper." Yup. (TV Squad)
• "Dancing With The Stars" results recap. (BuddyTV)
• People are getting really sick of Jerry Seinfeld shilling for "Bee Movie." He's lost the funny. (The Hater)
• Beatboxer Blake Lewis, the 2nd place finisher on "American Idol" last year, has an album coming out. (Buzzsugar)
• Ugly Betty is incredibly hott! (Seriously OMG)
• "Samantha Who?" gets a full season from ABC. (Hollywood Reporter)
• "Jericho": not good, but you know you can't stop watching (Slate)
• You did WHAT in my house? You hid WHAT in my couch? You met my mother HOW? (Seriously OMG)

Morning Reads: We'll Get To Last Night's "Prison Break" Insanity After This

• Ausiello reports Joss Whedon is directing another episode of "The Office." (TV Guide)
• And speaking of "The Office," it appears the new Dunder Mifflin Infinity online presence is having some pretty serious birth pains. (GMMR)
• USA is planning to make a series based on the character Nick Naylor from "Thank You For Smoking." That happens to be one of my favorite books, and the movie wasn't bad. But a series? No word on casting. (BuzzSugar)
• Checking out this season's "Ugly Betty" guest stars. (GMMR)
• The ugly mess that the DVR has made of the television ratings. (NYT)
• Recapping last night's episode of "How I Met Your Mother" reveals to me that cute little Winnie from "The Wonder Years" is now into girl-on-girl-on-guy sitcom action. *Sob* (TV Squad)
• A third season for "Kyle XY." I thought we already knew that. (TV Squad)

"How I Met Your Mother" Chat Is Legen...dary!

Two weeks into the "How I Met Your Mother" season and Ted and Robin seem to have cleared Enrique Iglesias and Mandy Moore out of their lives, so we can get back to just them and Lily and Marshall and the awesome Barney. And of course, we're all waiting for the payoff of Marshall and Barney's big slap bet - check http://slapcountdown.com/ for an update.

I'd explain some of this, but you either watch or you don't, y'know? It's the coolest show on CBS in which nobody gets autopsied. A summer press tour session with Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) and executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas showed why it's so funny.
(Above right, Harris with Josh Radnor as Ted.)

Some lightly edited excerpts, starting with the (semi-)serious stuff...                                                     

Q: You're going to start hinting around about who the mother is, how much can you hint before it gets annoying?
Thomas: That's the question we hope to answer. ... Episode one will show that we have not forgotten the title of our show, in a very exciting way.
Q: Are there any hints that you've already laid out that we've missed?
Bays (right): The thing that we love to do, sometimes we plant things intentionally. Sometimes things grow out of one little...we'll write one joke in season one, and that will turn into an entire episode in season three. So yeah, I think everything's up for grabs. It's in there.
Q: have there ever been times when you've regretted the title of the show, that you might have been able to do something different if that hadn't been the focus?
Thomas: We should have gone with our original title, 'People Hanging Out.' (Laughter) Huge mistake.
Bays: Or 'CSI: How I Met Your Mother.' (Laughter) We would have doubled our ratings, probably.
Thomas: No, we like it. We stand by it. We stand by the title of our show. I'm making a shocking stand here. (Laughter) We like that it suggests a larger journey and a point and it isn't just people hanging out. There is a larger life story being told that hopefully differentiates our show from other shows, from other sitcoms.

Morning Links Madness!

First, one more look at the only really funny moment during Sunday night's Oscarcast:

• Talkin' 'bout Fox bleeping the Emmys. (New York Times)
• "Match Game" wiseacre Brett Somers has died at 83. (Associated Press.)
• Tim Goodman has some last thoughts on the Emmycast: "All this controversy about Sally Field's stupid speech. The woman should be banned from accepting anything, except advice. Like this: Shut it. Take the trophy, go home." (SFGate.com)
• A sweet sentiment from The TV Addict: "This summer will be forever remembered as quite possibly the best summer of television ever." (TVAddict.com)
• Josh Schwartz talks about "Gossip Girl" (boo) and "Chuck" (yay): "It's really hard to do a show about people in their 20s. It becomes a lot of navel-gazing, people complaining about their lives. But if a guy in his 20s is complaining about his life because he was almost killed by a ninja the night before, now you've got something." (BuzzSugar)
• Pix of Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother" and his boyfriend at the Oscars. (Televisionista)
• Recapping "Prison Break" at GMMR: "I felt like I needed a shower after watching tonight’s episode just to get the stink and the grime off of me." (GMMR)
• Pictures of the "Smallville" action figures and pictures of the stars at Emmy afterparties - which is more lifelike? (Televisionista)

Emmys: Predictions and Liveblog Plans

First, a reminder that I will be taking on the most awesome feat of channel-flippin'-bloggin' in the history of mankind on Sunday night, when the Emmys hit Fox at 8 p.m.

Secondly, a recap of my Emmy picks, the better for you to mock and revile me in the comments on Sunday night...

Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy: This should be a race between Neil Patrick Harris as the sparkplug of "How I Met Your Mother" or Rainn Wilson's insane Dwight on "The Office." If "The Office" rocks, it could be Wilson. But something tells me this is Harris' year.

Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy: I think the real competition here is between Elizabeth Perkins as the imperious, often soused suburban queen Celia on "Weeds" and Jenna Fischer's fantastic but quite subtle performance as Pam on "The Office." Fischer and John Krasinski as Jim are the sane heart of the "Office" madhouse, and he wasn't even nominated, so maybe this is Perkins' year. But I'm hoping Fischer wins. Call it a vote for romance.

Fall TV Night-By-Night: Monday

A big night for all the networks, with a couple of tough head-to-head matchups.

ABC will find out if "Dancing With The Stars" remains strong. The new "Samantha Who?" got much buzz for Christina Applegate (left) as an amnesiac trying to change her screwed-up life, with Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn as her parents and Barry Watson as her boyfriend. It's not clear if repeated title changes and an Oct. 15 premiere date reflect backstage problems or just the usual Hollywood mishigas. "dancing" and "The Bachelor" bow on Sept. 24.

CBS has a lot riding on the success of its Monday-night comedies, notably the growing popularity of "How I Met Your Mother." But "Big Bang Theory" looks like a loser, with two nerds getting all hot and bothered over their new neighbor Kaley Cuoco, in a lame Internet-era version of leering "Three's Company" comedy. And no one understands why the underwhelming "Rules of Engagement" is back while "New Adventures of Old Christine" waits in the wings. Still, with "Two And A Half Men" and "CSI: Miami," CBS will likely continue to rule Mondays. All its shows roll out Sept. 24.

CW, Fox, NBC and a schedule after the jump.

2007 Emmy Predictions, Part 1: Comedy Acting

The 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out Sept. 16 in Los Angeles, live on Fox, in a ceremony hosted by Ryan Seacrest. And it seems like now is a good time to get our predictions in the major categories on the record, before fall premieres clog our bandwidth next week. Four days, 10 categories, and absolutely nothing at stake except our honor: Write your own joke. Today, we consider the four comedy-acting categories.

Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy nominees: Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama and Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage"; Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother"; Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on NBC's "The Office"; Jon Cryer as Alan Harper on CBS' "Two And A Half Men."

MeeVee's take: Dillon's nod is frankly a surprise. Piven won last year and could repeat, but "Entourage" has slipped a bit. "Two And A Half Men" is TV's highest-rated comedy and Emmy loves hits, but this should come down to a race between Harris as the sparkplug of "Mother" or Wilson's insane Dwight. If "The Office" rocks, it could be  Wilson. But something tells me this is Harris'  year.

Morning Reads

I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news, but Jim Belushi is moving out from in front of the camera. He's going to direct. ... Doug Elfman has a funny Game Dork column in the Chicago Sun-Times outlining the video game habits of stars like Zac Efron he met on the press tour. Wish I'd thought of that. ... TV Guide reports "24" star Reiko Aylesworth - aka the late Michelle Dessler - is joining "ER" this season. ... Our pal the TV Addict has pix of a certain second-generation Hispanic music star's upcoming appearance on "How I Met Your Mother." ... TV Squad's recapper is having a complicated relationship with this week's "Rescue Me," which seems about right, actually. ... Dave, Oprah. Oprah, Dave.

Oh Mandy Moore, You Came And You Gave Without Taking

Give Me My Remote has all the lowdown on Mandy Moore's "How I Met Your Mother" guest shot as Ted's next girlfriend. Ooops, was that a spoiler? Oh well. Here's another one: "boozed-out Lohan-esque skank." Is that enough?

MeeVee Video Top 5: Finding Love--How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and more

Love has been and always will be tricky. Without love, 80's rock ballads would never have existed, Vincent van Gough would have kept both ears, and our astronaut friend would not have taken an infamous Florida trip in a pair of Depends. Love is a two-sided blade. When you fall in love there's no greater experience, however, love tends to morph into strange things until it ultimately ends in a giant mess! Don't get us wrong. Love is great. Without love, the human race would cease to carry on. Well, love and booze.

The only thing stranger than love is corporate-generated TV love. This week Video Top 5 looks at various forms of love and the search for love. You can see full episodes of How I Met Your Mother as well as Barney's practice wedding toasts. We have leaked scenes and interviews from the cast of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Scope out guilty cheaters caught red-handed on Cheaters. You can also meet the potential suitor-ettes on the new reality shows Age of Love and Rock of Love. Compare and contrast the different levels of crazy women on both shows.

Tonight's Picks: Monday, May 14

King of Queens -- China Syndrome
The series concludes after nine seasons with a special one-hour episode. Doug wants a divorce; Carrie wants to stay together and adopt a baby. Will it be curtains for the royal family? Watch them joke their last.

How I Met Your Mother -- Something Blue
It's Lily and Marshall's wedding reception, and Barney finds out that Ted and Robin have a big secret they've been keeping. Are they getting married? Are they breaking up? Is Robin pregnant?  Will Barney drive them crazy until they spill the beans? Tune in for the season finale.

CSI: Miami -- Born to Kill
In the season finale, Horatio and the team hunt down a serial killer who marks his victims with a Y. When he's captured, he blames his double-Y chromosomes for his killing. That's even worse than the Twinkie defense.

Tonight's Picks: Monday, May 7

Heroes -- The Hard Part
Nathan's willing to do whatever it takes to win the election. D.L. and Niki learn more about what Linderman has in store for them, and we learn more about creepy, creepy Sylar. He's just an unfortunate product of his environment, Your Honor.

How I Met Your Mother -- Something Borrowed
Absolutely everything goes wrong on Lily and Marshall's big day, and the least likely person jumps in to save the day. Also, check out the winning line from the "Barneyisms" contest, which airs in this episode.

Girlfriends -- A House Divided
Eldon's parishioners aren't too happy with Lynn as his choice of girlfriend, and he's forced to make a tough decision. Joan and Aaron have their first fight.

Tonight's Picks: Monday, April 30

Heroes -- String Theory
Hiro and Ando find themselves five years in the future. Finally, we'll discover why Future Hiro has that silly soul patch. Tonight's episode tells us if Nathan ended up in the White House, how New York blew up, and what happened to the heroes after.

How I Met Your Mother -- Showdown
Barney finally gets his big chance to spin the big wheel and meet Bob Barker. Will he win a lifetime supply of Palmolive, and impress his idol Bob? Barney Stinson, come on down!

Dancing with the Stars -- Round Six
Heather Mills has left the dance floor, and only six teams remain! Ballroom dances and Latin dances are up. Whose dance cuisine will reign supreme? Better yet, who will fall down?

GMMR: How I Met Your Mother -- Best. Episode. Ever.

I’m not usually one to recommend watching a repeat, especially when there’s so much great original programming on tonight. But, if you haven’t ever seen the Slap Bet episode of How I Met Your Mother, I think you should consider TiVoing it tonight. This is my favorite episode of this series, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it.

So what makes it do good? Well, we have the Slap Bet and Robin Sparkles. Two classic HIMYM tales in one episode.

Here’s a little taste of The Slap Bet…

Tonight's Picks: Monday, April 23

Heroes -- .07%
Sylar confronts two more on the list, while Nathan considers Linderman's advice as he faces some über-difficult decisions. (Aren't they all, on this show?) Meanwhile, Thomson hunts for Claire, and fan favorite Hiro renews his vow to save the world. At least someone's looking out for us!

Real Wedding Crashers -- Series Premiere
A quintet of improv performers pulls various pranks at real weddings (don't worry, the bride and groom are in on the joke) in this six-part hidden-camera comedy series. First up are Derek and Jonnie, a couple from Las Vegas who dream of having a wedding their friends will never forget. Mission accomplished!

King of Queens -- Mild Bunch
Doug attends his 20th high school reunion and teams up with a former bad boy (played by exciting cameo Adam Sandler) who's now the school's vice principal, to get revenge on their mean-spirited principal, who is still on the job.