Wild Wednesdays: Private Practice vs. Bionic Woman vs. Gossip Girl

Three high-profile new series -- ABC's Private Practice, NBC's Bionic Woman and The CW's Gossip Girl -- will compete to find an audience at 9 p.m. Wednesdays. That's just one of the many interesting mid-week battles in place on the broadcast networks' fall schedules.

WEDNESDAY

The 8 p.m. hour on Wednesday is up for grabs, with the reality series Kid Nation on CBS, the imaginative drama Pushing Daisies on ABC and the Kelsey Grammer sitcom Back to You on Fox fighting to get noticed. Kid Nation, a study of children left alone to build their own society and create their own laws without adult influences, looks to be highly controversial, and for that reason alone it could draw a crowd. But it may also prove off-putting to parents (not to mention teachers). The sublime Pushing Daisies is widely regarded by critics as the best new series of the fall season, but it is so unique and unusual that it may have trouble finding a mainstream audience. Back to You has star-power to spare, with Grammer, Patricia Heaton and Fred Willard heading its cast, but its pilot script wasn't especially strong. It's not a sure bet, especially as paired with returning under-performer 'Til Death, starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. Still, no other network has so many veteran sitcom superstars and multiple Emmy-winners clustered in one hour.

NBC will muddle along at 8 p.m. with Deal or No Deal. On The CW, America's Next Top Model will remain a huge draw for young women who will find nothing else of interest in the hour.

CBS will be dominant from 9-11 p.m. with Criminal Minds and CSI: NY, both proven successes.

Three high profile new series will go head to head at 9 p.m. -- NBC's Bionic Woman, ABC's Private Practice (a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy) and The CW's Gossip Girl. The Heroes audience (and other sci-fi fans) will likely embrace Bionic Woman, and teen girls are going to love (or love to hate) Gossip Girl (which is based on a series of best-selling teen-targeted novels). Private Practice has a strong cast, but the back-door pilot ABC ran last May (as an extended episode of Grey's Anatomy) was so disappointing that it turned critics off to this show. Viewers grumbled a bit, too. But ABC has designated Private a top priority. Perhaps executive producer Shonda Rhimes will turn it around and surprise us.

Opposite scripted dramas on the other four networks, Fox should do okay with the reality series Kitchen Nightmares starring Gordon Ramsay, the mad chef of its summer success Hell's Kitchen.

At 10 p.m., ABC's Dirty Sexy Money and NBC's Life will battle for survival opposite CBS' CSI: NY. The lame Life, about a police officer readjusting to the world after being wrongly imprisoned for 12 years, will not last. Dirty Sexy Money is a tougher call. It has star power to spare in Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh, but viewers may not be interested in the problems and perils faced by a billionaire family. Also, the mythology of this show, about competitive billionaires fighting for economic dominance in Manhattan, sounds somewhat forced. One of them, not seen in the pilot, is working on a drainage plan to deal with rising sea levels that threaten to submerge New York City and intends to make the city a self-supporting ecosystem. Hmm. That's a far cry from the guilty pleasures of Ewing barbecues and Carrington catfights.

THURSDAY

On Thursday, six returning series will face off against each other from 8-9 p.m., and most of them will likely lose some ground in the ratings.

Two aging, long-running favorites are going all-out to revitalize themselves, and the results will be interesting to watch. CBS' Survivor will provide viewers with a unique look at China, while The CW's Smallville will add the Supergirl character to its colorful canvas. Meanwhile, NBC's My Name is Earl, which lost steam last season, might drag lead-out 30 Rock down with it. (Regardless, 30 Rock will continue to do well in upscale demographics.) ABC's sparkling Ugly Betty last season ended on a strangely dark note that might have turned off some viewers.

Only Fox' Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a sure bet to remain as healthy as it was last spring. In fact, it may grow once school starts. This is Waterfountain TV in schools across the country; a show that kids, parents and teachers are all watching and talking about. (Note to producers: Pick up the pace, please.)

The competition remains tough at 9 p.m., as the aging but still potent CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS goes up against the aging but still upscale The Office and Scrubs on NBC and the aging and vulnerable Grey's Anatomy on ABC. Grey's late last season lost its snappy romantic charm and sizzling sex appeal and became unrelentingly grim. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes has a huge challenge on her hands: She must restore Grey's narrative balance while launching its Wednesday spin-off, Private Practice.

The CW and Fox will both do well at 9 p.m. with the growing Supernatural and Don't Forget the Lyrics, respectively.

At 10 p.m., the very tired ER on NBC will once again be up against the very strong Without a Trace, which is back in the time period it used to call home. (Smart move, CBS.) Expect Trace to triumph. ABC's new drama about rich businessmen, Big Shots, may not last long opposite these two shows unless its writers improve on their poor pilot script, which captured none of the appeal or four-way chemistry that series leads Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina and Michael Vartan displayed during their appearance at the Television Critics Association tour. Critics don't like this show, but they agreed that its press conference was the most entertaining and informative series session during the entire three-week tour. These actors can be enormously entertaining, and if that comes through in future episodes, Big may have a shot.

Coming on Thursday: A look at the networks' Friday, Saturday and Sunday night strategies.

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