American Series

I've got it. I know what FOX should do next fall. Since American Idol only runs during the spring season, the FOX switchboard has all these phone numbers that don't get used during the fall. Here's my idea for them. They kick off the fall season by airing two weeks of all their new shows. There's the painfully bad sitcom that people laugh at but not in the places the writers hoped for. This show gets cancelled immediately. All the other shows make it to the next round. There's the single-camera sitcom vehicle for some funny person. There's the gritty crime show with the fun but absurd season long plot. There's the gritty crime show with the good ensemble cast built more around single episodes. There's the teen drama with supernatural elements. There's the politcal thriller with supernatural elements and filmed in reverse chronological order starting with the season four finale. There's a new pale immitation of Family Guy from the people who brought you Family Guy.

Now, during the November sweeps period, starting with the end of prime time on Friday nights, viewers can call in and vote for their favorite of the new shows. Then on the Sunday night revelation show, the series that recieved the fewest votes will be cancelled and replaced with some reality show involving poorly behaved kids who learn to figure skate with someone else's mother. In the end, the winning series will be crowned "American Series," and get to return in January.

While there is a drawback in this scheme--it is possible that more than one show is actually worth airing--American Series will at least give us fans a real chance to try to save a show instead of just writing angry emails that get ignored.