ABC's "Monday Night Football" joins us for the unbelievable 37th and last season. (It's moving to ESPN next year while NBC Sunday gets the new broadcast version of "Sunday Night Football.) CBS has two new comedies which are funny, capped my "CSI: Miami." NBC's doing alright here, even when (if?) "Surface" falters. I love "Arrested Development," yet "Kitchen Confidential" doesn't grab me at all. "Prison Break" should hold its own in the slot. The other comedy block is UPN's which will barely make it on the radar. Finally, record-breaking "7th Heaven" will chug along and hopefully bring some viewers to the new "Just Legal."CBS easily wins the night, with ABC in second unless the "MNF" matchup is horrid.
Things get a little more interesting in 2006 when ABC and Fox change their skeds. "What About Brian" makes a great alternative to the other two dramas, but I'm not sure ABC's comedies will make much of a dent. Fox is where the big change comes with the move of "House" to Monday as a lead-in to another day of "24."
I was going to break down slot winners, but it looks like CBS should have a clean sweep of the evening.
Winner: "CSI: Miami."
