Sci Fi Wire reports what many Heroes fans with functioning brains already suspected — the much-touted spinoff has been put out to pasture. If you believe NBC Universal co-chairman Ben Silverman, the reasons are complications related to the network essentially thinking too big for its britches.

According to the Peacock honcho at the network’s April 2 upfront presentation, NBC was “taxing [its] creative team to do too much” on the proposed spinoff. “[NBC] wanted 35 Heroes [episodes] and 12 Heroes: Origins, each of which was supposed to be a mini-movie and backdoor pilot.” Ultimately, however, NBC “decided it was better to focus on keeping the Heroes mothership as strong as possible.”

Sounds like a plan to me.

The incarnation of Heroes that started “it” all finally returns to the tube on September 15 for its third season, at which time loyal followers and newcomers alike will be treated to an extended premiere-night event that will include a one-hour clip-show refresher, followed by a two-hour movie-like opener. As long as said 120-minute extravaganza doesn’t involve feudal Japan in any way, shape, or form, I’m all for it.

As for the scrapping of Heroes: Origins — I can’t say I really care. Viewers already have ninety or so major characters to keep track of on the original show — not including the never-ending online graphic novel series (it’s on installment #79!) and other multimedia stunts, er, outgrowths — a situation that has done more than any other to sap my interest in the series. Just visiting the NBC website for the show gives me a migraine while looking at all the options.

There really is such a thing as overkill, and I’m glad NBC’s people have realized it in this case before irreparable damage could be done. If anything, the network and showrunners should be trying to scale the Heroes behemoth down, not inflate it to even more monstrous proportions that fans can’t possibly keep up with unless they have no life and no sense. That’s just my FYI, though.

Tags: Ben Silverman, Heroes, Heroes: Origins, NBC, Origins, television, tv, upfronts

If you don’t recall — and I’m fairly certain lots of people don’t — Life is the funny and engaging show starring English actor Damian Lewis as Zen-loving, wrongfully incarcerated cop Charlie Crews. During the first season, Crews returns to his law enforcement job after finally being released from prison, only to encounter suspicious attitudes from colleagues as he skillfully solves crimes while secretly tracking down the person who set him up for a triple homicide over a decade ago.

Despite being one of the most enjoyable new series last fall, Life continually struggled in the ratings and just barely squeaked through to a second season. After NBC’s announcement at its April 2 upfront presentation that the show will air Fridays at 10pm EST when it returns in September, I’m inclined to think that fatal time slot was the strategy all along.

Something has to go on the schedule at that time, so why not a show that a small, vocal group of fans and critics championed? This way, the network looks good for keeping a very good but low-rated series around, and it doesn’t have to worry about what happens on Fridays. Either Life will sink, as is most likely given the history of Friday-night primetime TV programs that aren’t named Ghost Whisperer or Numb3rs, or, with a huge stroke of luck, it might swim.

Equally distressing is the fact that both the fall and winter planned lead-ins for Life could not be much more incompatible. In the fall, an adaptation of the enduring Robinson Crusoe novel will air at 8pm, and the insipid game show Deal or No Deal will follow at 9pm.

Then, come winter, Deal or No Deal will shift to 8pm and Friday Night Lights will take over the 9pm slot. I love FNL just as much as the next devotee, but let’s be serious. The earnest, small-town, family-friendly, football drama is in no way a good companion to a quirky, cerebral, crime-riddled, big-city detective dramedy like Life.

Ugh!!! Prepare yourselves for Life‘s final season right now, fellow fans. I just hope the show makes it all the way to the end and doesn’t get cut short a few episodes in.

If only someone at NBC had dedicated as much effort to putting together the Friday-night lineup as that on Monday nights in the fall, which rocks. Chuck at 8pm, Heroes at 9pm, and the new Jason Smilovic/Christian Slater spy-daddy drama My Own Worst Enemy at 10pm. Now, I’m totally looking forward to that.

NBC’s primetime schedules for Fall 2008–2009, Winter 2009, and Summer 2009 follow. And, yes — you read that correctly. Over an entire year’s worth of programming is coming up, which is what the network released.

Tags: Damian Lewis, Life, NBC, television, tv, upfronts

In the television show, following the present TV trend of filling lead roles in American series with thespians from overseas, heroine Sarah is played by 33-year-old British stage and film actress Lena Headey. Dekker plays her son John, the person who will eventually lead a revolt against an army of machines after they take over the world as we know it.

According to the Fox Web site, The Sarah Connor Chronicles takes place after the events that unfold in the second installment of the movie franchise, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, not the third, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Thus, Sarah is rebounding from her success preventing the liquid metal Terminator in Part Two (played to perfection by Robert Patrick of The Unit and The X-Files) from completing its mission of killing her son, which occurred before the introduction of the super-cool and improved female Terminatrix model (Kristanna Loken of Sci Fi Channel’s Painkiller Jane) depicted in Part Three.

My only gripe with the four clips and one trailer I’ve viewed thus far is their claustrophobic feel centered exclusively around the core characters. The series also stars Firefly and Serenity‘s Summer Glau (troubled River Tam) as a fellow student and much more at John’s high school, as well as Judging Amy‘s Richard T. Jones (court officer Bruce Van Exel) as a supportive FBI agent.

Given the frighteningly massive global repercussions of the cyborgs’ inevitable proliferation, the series would only make sense to me if it featured a revolving roster of interesting and diverse players. While I appreciate the inherent social, mental, and emotional isolation of being on the run from both the law and nasty Terminators from the future, the impact of the plot’s themes is too widespread for each episode to only deliver more Connor-clan angst interspersed with occasional cyborg fight fests. Hopefully, by the time the show premieres, the footage will look a little more “lively.”

The Sarah Connor Chronicles is brought to us by C2 Pictures (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and executive producers Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) and David Nutter (Supernatural, Smallville). With a pedigree like that, the series better not go wrong.

Take a look here or jump to the video.

Description from Fox:

THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES reveals what happens when SARAH (Lena Headey, “The Brothers Grimm,” “300″) stops running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving technological enemy bent on destroying her life, and perhaps the world. Her son, 15-year-old JOHN CONNOR (Thomas Dekker, “Heroes”), knows that he may be the future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he’s told is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably drawn to CAMERON (Summer Glau, “Serenity,” “The Unit”), an enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school, who soon proves to be much more than his confidante – she assumes the role of Sarah and John’s fearless protector. On their trail are not only threats from the future, but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, JAMES ELLISON (Richard T. Jones, “Judging Amy”), who soon becomes a powerful ally.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles is slated to premiere on Fox midseason next January and air Sundays at 9pm EST

The Sarah Connor Chronicles photo courtesy of Fox

Tags: Lena Headey, Richard T. Jones, Summer Glau, television, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Terminator, Thomas Dekker, tv

The CW’s President of Entertainment Dawn Ostroff opened the upfront presentation at Madison Square Garden by claiming that the netlet’s “new shows have attitude and a sense of fun, and they’re going to define this network.” After reviewing the synopses and watching the video previews for the six newcomers in the fall, as well as two midseason entrants, I can get behind Ostroff’s bold predictions.

First up on Monday nights between returning favorites Everybody Hates Chris at 8pm EST and Girlfriends at 9 is the new half-hour sitcom Aliens in America. And, no, this has nothing to do with science fiction. Instead, the comedy is about “a 16-year-old Wisconsin boy, Justin Tolchuk, whose mother decides to improve his social status at school by importing an exchange student to be his friend. When the student turns out to be a Pakistani Muslim teenager named Raja, issues of diversity, tolerance and coming of age in America take center stage.” Dan Byrd and Adhir Kalyan star as Justin and Raja, respectively.

Tuesdays at 9pm will serve as home to the one rookie show I think I’ll enjoy most, Reaper, a supernatural adventure dramedy about “a slacker named Sam who learns that his parents accidentally sold his soul to the devil before he was born, forcing him into a new life as the devil’s bounty hunter.” How wild is that? Bret Harrison of The Loop (a silly Fox sitcom from last year that I really enjoyed in a childish way) plays Sam, Tyler Labine of the too-short Invasion plays his best friend Sock, and Ray Wise of 24 plays Satan himself. That’s some sensational, spot-on casting.

Next is Wednesdays and the series that features voiceover narration from Veronica Mars star Kristin Bell, The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz‘s Gossip Girl, which is based on the enormously successful young-adult book series of the same name about “the struggle for social supremacy among teens from both sides of the tracks in a posh Manhattan prep school.” The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants‘ Blake Lively and Surface‘s Leighton Meester are among the ensemble players.

Sundays bring the one remaining drama, the ambitious and somewhat distinctive Life Is Wild, notable in part because it’s slated to be filmed entirely in South Africa. The Everwood-ish premise concerns “a dysfunctional blended family from New York who moves to a rural South African town and finds they must rely on each other more than they ever did back home.” Brett Cullen of Friday Night Lights stars as the veterinarian who uproots his family, and Leah Pipes plays his teenage daughter, one of four kids towed along.

The remaining new fall series are the inconsequential reality shows Online Nation and CW Now, as well as the inane midseason reality replacements Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants and Farmer Wants A Wife.

The CW’s Fall 2007 primetime schedule is as follows with the returning programs added:

Mondays

• 8pm: Everybody Hates Chris (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 8:30pm: Aliens In America (NEW COMEDY)
• 9pm: Girlfriends (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 9:30pm: The Game (RETURNING COMEDY)

Tuesdays

• 8pm: Beauty and the Geek (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: Reaper (NEW SUPERNATURAL DRAMEDY)

Wednesdays

• 8pm: America’s Next Top Model (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: Gossip Girl (NEW DRAMA)

Thursdays

• 8pm: Smallville (RETURNING SCI-FI DRAMA)
• 9pm: Supernatural (RETURNING SUPERNATURAL DRAMA)

Fridays

• 8pm: Friday Night Smackdown! (RETURNING SPORTS)

Saturdays

• Take the night off or watch another channel

Sundays

• 7pm: CW Now (NEW REALITY SHOW)
• 7:30pm: Online Nation (NEW REALITY SHOW)
• 8pm: Life Is Wild (NEW FAMILY DRAMA)
• 9pm: America’s Next Top Model (SAME-WEEK ENCORE)

Related News: Goodbye ‘Veronica Mars’, Hello ‘Gossip Girl’?

Tags: CW, television, The CW, tv, upfronts

The remaining three series green-lighted for the fall—one each of comedy, drama, and reality—are Viva Laughlin, executive producer and X-Men star Hugh Jackman‘s mystery drama with music (why they’re afraid to just call it a musical is beyond me if the show is genuinely daring) based on the popular British series Viva Blackpool; Two and A Half Men co-creator Chuck Lorre‘s geek comedy The Big Bang Theory; and the youth-oriented, social-experiment reality program Kid Nation.

Additional newcomers for summer and midseason appearances, respectively, are Power of 10, hosted by comedian Drew Carey, and the 1970s mate-swap (yes, it means exactly what you think) drama Swingtown from Big Love, Rome and Six Feet Under director Alan Poul.

Finally, aside from the aforementioned Jericho and Close to Home, CBS canceled just one other series, the widely hyped freshman sitcom The Class, which, in my opinion, deserved the boot since it was nowhere near as entertaining as reviewers indicated.

All pick-ups and returning shows considered, CBS’ “new,” virtually unchanged 2007-2008 primetime schedule consists of:

Mondays

• 8pm: How I Met Your Mother (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 8:30pm: The Big Bang Theory (NEW COMEDY)
• 9pm: Two and A Half Men (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 9:30pm: Rules of Engagement (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 10pm: CSI: Miami (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)

Tuesdays

• 8pm: NCIS (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 9pm: The Unit (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 10pm: Cane (NEW DRAMA)

Wednesdays

• 8pm: Kid Nation (NEW REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: Criminal Minds (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 10pm: CSI: NY (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)

Thursdays

• 8pm: Survivor (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 10pm: Without a Trace (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)

Fridays

• 8pm: Ghost Whisperer (RETURNING SUPERNATURAL DRAMA)
• 9pm: Moonlight (NEW SUPERNATURAL DRAMA)
• 10pm: Numb3rs (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)

Saturdays

• 8pm: Crimetime Saturday
• 9pm: Crimetime Saturday
• 10pm: 48 Hours: Mystery (RETURNING NEWSMAGAZINE)

Sundays

• 7pm: 60 Minutes (RETURNING NEWSMAGAZINE)
• 8pm: Viva Laughlin (NEW MUSICAL DRAMA)
• 9pm: Cold Case (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 10pm: Shark (RETURNING LEGAL DRAMA)

Related News: Bubble Trouble: Tonight’s ‘Close to Home’ Finale Possibly the Series’ Last | CBS Cancels ‘Jericho’ and Unceremoniously Alienates Legions of Fans | ‘Jericho’ Finale Promises Explosive Conflict and a Shocking Death

Tags: CBS, television, tv, upfronts

Among the slew of programs, the only ones I’m even mildly interested in checking out are the supernatural-ish “Am I Crazy?!” legal drama Eli Stone, which stars British actor and Angelina Jolie ex Jonny Lee Miller, Alias spy daddy Victor Garber, and Species alien chick Natasha Henstridge; the supernatural crime romance (!) Pushing Daisies, brought to us by Heroes co-executive producer Bryan Fuller and Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld; and perhaps the amnesiac sitcom Sam I Am with funnygirls Christina Applegate of Married with Children and Jennifer Esposito of Spin City.

Otherwise, the mere fact that ABC renewed the insufferably tedious and thoroughly brain-numbing recent newcomers October Road and Notes from the Underbelly for 13-episode second seasons is practically enough to make me boycott the network forever. A third season of What About Brian would have been better.

Speaking of which, it looks like the series George Lopez, According to Jim, Knights of Prosperity, Big Day, Day Break, Help Me Help You, In Case of Emergency, The Nine, Six Degrees, and the aforementioned What About Brian are all officially kaput. My condolences, especially to George Lopez, Day Break, The Nine, and Six Degrees, each of which deserved to live on for varying reasons.

As of today, ABC’s Fall 2007 primetime schedule takes the following shape, with the clarification that Cashmere Mafia, Notes from the Underbelly, and October Road will premiere after the fall finales of Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor, while other series renewed or picked up but not currently listed will appear later in the 2007–2008 season:

Mondays

• 8pm: Dancing with the Stars (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9:30pm: Sam I Am (NEW COMEDY)
• 10pm: The Bachelor (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)

Tuesdays

• 8pm: Cavemen (NEW COMEDY)
• 8:30pm: Carpoolers (NEW COMEDY)
• 9pm: Dancing with the Stars the Results Show (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 10pm: Boston Legal (RETURNING LEGAL DRAMA)

Wednesdays

• 8pm: Pushing Daisies (NEW DRAMA)
• 9pm: Private Practice (NEW MEDICAL DRAMA)
• 10pm: Dirty Sexy Money (NEW DRAMA)

Thursdays

• 8pm: Ugly Betty (RETURNING DRAMEDY)
• 9pm: Grey’s Anatomy (RETURNING MEDICAL DRAMA)
• 10pm: Big Shots (NEW DRAMA)

Fridays

• 8pm: Men in Trees (RETURNING DRAMEDY)
• 9pm: Women’s Murder Club (NEW DRAMA)
• 10pm: 20/20 (RETURNING NEWSMAGAZINE)

Saturdays

• 8pm: Saturday Night College Football (SPORTS SPECIAL)

Sundays

• 7pm: America’s Funniest Home Videos (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 8pm: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: Desperate Housewives (RETURNING DRAMEDY)
• 10pm: Brothers & Sisters (RETURNING DRAMA)

Related News: Fourteen ABC Series Renewed Early for 2007-2008 | ‘Lost’ to End in 2010 at the Ripe Age of Six | ‘Men in Trees’ Season 1 Branching into Season 2

All times are EST/Eastern Standard Time

Tags: ABC, television, tv, upfronts

What’s new are the sci-fi-infused dramas Bionic Woman, Chuck, Journeyman, and Life, as well as the Heroes spinoff Heroes: Origins; the female-centric dramedy Lipstick Jungle; the sitcom The IT Crowd; the game show The Singing Bee; and the reality series World Moves.

Besides the intact format of NBC’s Thursday Comedy Night Done Right lineup (although 30 Rock will be sandwiched between My Name Is Earl and The Office when the latter moves to 9pm EST), for the first time in nearly three decades, the fall season will notably not include a new sitcom in primetime. Moreover, star Donald Trump and executive producer Mark Burnett ‘s reality series The Apprentice is nowhere in sight. The last detail especially creates a conundrum for viewers—will the show ever air its promised though not officially announced seventh season, or is the end already sealed? Despite my vote for the latter, NBC will likely make a formal announcement about the fate of the show in the future, whether near or distant.

It’s also pretty clear that the network hopes to give ABC a run for the money on Sunday nights come January 2008, when NBC has scheduled two series against ABC’s strong female attractions Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. The shows, returning supernatural drama Medium and freshman Candace Bushnell-based dramedy Lipstick Jungle, will air at 9pm EST and 10pm EST respectively, directly opposite ABC’s proven Sunday-night hits—that is, if ABC retains the shows in their current time slots when it announces its 2007–2008 schedule later this week.

Finally, how much do I hate the fact that the engaging Texas drama Friday Night Lights has been moved to Friday nights at 10pm EST after barely surviving its first-year ratings slump? A whole lot. Auspicious title aside, not only is Friday a notoriously difficult night on which to attract an audience, especially one comprised of the younger people who are usually beginning their weekend by then and who make up the target viewership for the high school drama, but 10pm is a decidedly un-family friendly start time for a family-oriented drama. I guess one could argue that NBC had to put the show somewhere, and fans should just be happy the network found a place. But how much better would it be if the series aired at 8pm or 9pm at least? Infinitely. Still, I wish Friday Night Lights the best of luck—it will probably need it in the present time slot.

As of today, NBC’s Fall 2007 primetime schedule takes the following shape:

Mondays

• 8pm: Deal or No Deal (RETURNING GAME SHOW)
• 9pm: Heroes (RETURNING SCI-FI DRAMA)
• 10pm: Journeyman (NEW SCI-FI DRAMA)

Tuesdays

• 8pm: The Biggest Loser (RETURNING REALITY SHOW)
• 9pm: Chuck (NEW SCI-FI DRAMA)
• 10pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)

Wednesdays

• 8pm: Deal or No Deal (RETURNING GAME SHOW)
• 9pm: Bionic Woman (NEW SCI-FI DRAMA)
• 10pm: Life (NEW SCI-FI DRAMA)

Thursdays

• 8pm: My Name is Earl (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 8:30pm: 30 Rock (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 9pm: The Office (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 9:30pm: Scrubs (RETURNING COMEDY)
• 10pm: ER (RETURNING MEDICAL DRAMA)

Fridays

• 8pm: 1 vs. 100 (RETURNING GAME SHOW—Six Weeks)/The Singing Bee (NEW GAME SHOW)
• 9pm: Las Vegas (RETURNING DRAMA)
• 10pm: Friday Night Lights (RETURNING DRAMA)

Saturdays

• 8pm: Dateline NBC (RETURNING NEWSMAGAZINE)
• 9pm: Drama Repeat
• 10pm: Drama Repeat

Sundays

• 7pm: Football Night in America (SPORTS SPECIAL)
• 8pm: NBC Sunday Night Football (SPORTS SPECIAL)

Commencing with the January 2008 winter season, following the end of the pro football season, the Sunday-night lineup will change to:

• 7pm: Dateline NBC (RETURNING NEWSMAGAZINE)
• 8pm: Law & Order (RETURNING CRIME DRAMA)
• 9pm: Medium (RETURNING SUPERNATURAL DRAMA)
• 10pm: Lipstick Jungle (NEW DRAMEDY)

Related News: Both ‘Law and Order’ and ‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’ Live On! | ‘Friday Night Lights’ Is a Go for Season Two | NBC to Debut ‘Heroes’ Spinoff ‘Origins’ | Smart NBC Renews ‘Scrubs’ for a Seventh Season | Supernatural Series ‘Medium’ and ‘Blood Ties’ Join ‘Lost’ in the Renewal Spotlight

All times are EST/Eastern Standard Time

Tags: NBC, television, tv, upfronts