The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. And the TV critics are amazed.
   "It's beyond bizarre that this year ABC and UPN are the buzz networks," said Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic, one of more than 100 writers meeting here for the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
   The critics, a cantankerous and contentious bunch, are as close to consensus as they have been in years. In interview after interview, most agree that these are the new shows to watch this fall:
   "Desperate Housewives" (ABC, Sundays at 9 p.m.), a partly satirical soap opera with Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman, has a title that superbly describes the women whose secret lives are revealed.
   "Kevin Hill" (UPN, Wednesdays at 9), a surprisingly poignant drama about a swinging bachelor lawyer who becomes an instant daddy.
   "Lost" (ABC, Wednesdays at 8), in which survivors must cope after their plane crashes on a jungle isle.
   "Veronica Mars" (UPN, Tuesdays at 9), combining Nancy Drew perkiness with ominous overtones of Elmore Leonard....
   ...Despair and hyperbole are big here, too.
   Critics fret like protective mothers over beloved new series that seem destined to struggle for commercial success.
   Effusive over "Housewives," "Lost," and, more mutedly, the "reality" show "Wife Swap," TV Guide's Matt Roush noted, "ABC's whole history is littered with great shows, some of which could last three or four years, some of which could last three or four weeks. We just have to hope -- all we can do is hope -- that these new shows somehow find a connection with the viewers."
   Citing the series' "interesting pilots," Boedeker mused, "Will they develop into series or just be one-show flashes? Will ABC schedule them in such a way to get people looking at their network again? I mean, it's a really, really interesting question."
   These folks like television. They really, really do....
   SOURCE: Ventura County Star Permanent Link | 6:53 AM