Television networks trot out new series in January, along with some returning series. Following is an article from the Detroit Free Press about this year's changes.

There's one change that baffles me. NBC is moving the popular (why? who watches these turkeys?) My Name is Earl and The Office to Thursday nights. Their time slot competition is the most popular (deservedly) of all tv dramas, CSI, and The OC, among others. I hope the move will mean that the two NBC comedies will fall into oblivion.

Since I don't have cable, I don't have an opinion on the cable shows mentioned in the article. There are some unseen new shows so my opinion is based on descriptions read and seen elsewhere and reiterated in the article. Some of the returning shows have changed for the considerably worse from good beginnings. For all of the other non-cable shows listed, I have one word: ick.

New Year, New TV Lineups

By Mike Duffy

Detroit Free Press

The January frenzy is upon us as the networks play midseason schedule bingo, moving current shows to new time slots, introducing a slew of new series and bringing back old favorites for fresh fun.

Jenna Elfman, Tom Cavanaugh ("Ed"), Heather Graham, Fred Savage, Aidan Quinn and Jane Curtin are among those debuting in new series this month. "Scrubs," "Monk," "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Shield" — along with the twin Fox heavyweights "American Idol" and "24" — swing back into action in January, as well.

As for big moves, NBC is making one of the most notable changes.

In a risky attempt to kick-start the revival of its once dominant Thursday night lineup, the Peacock Network moves red-hot, first-year comedy "My Name is Earl" from Tuesdays to 8 p.m. Thursdays starting tonight.

"Dancing with the Stars" (7 p.m. tonight and Friday). The summer sensation puts its dancing shoes on again to face tougher regular season competition. George Hamilton, Tatum O'Neal and NFL superstar Jerry Rice are among the stars testing their tango and waltz talents.

"In Justice" (8 p.m. Friday). A crime procedural with a twist. It focuses on sloppy police work, biased juries and false testimony in the stories of the National Justice Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions. Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks") heads the cast. Premiered Sunday.

"Jake in Progress" (8:30 p.m. Monday). Back for a second season, John Stamos plays a Manhattan babe magnet who wants to settle down, in a male "Sex and the City" knockoff. Maybe Jake should meet Emily.

"The Bachelor: Paris" (9 p.m. Monday). Hunky Dr. Travis Stork has the tough job of sorting through the hot female suitors in search of a soul mate. Poor baby.

"Crumbs" (8:30 p.m. Jan. 12). Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years") plays a closeted gay writer who returns home to cope with his estranged brother, philandering father (William Devane) and mentally unhinged mother (Jane Curtin) in a dysfunctional family comedy.

"Sons & Daughters" (winter premiere to be announced). Channeling the neurotic screwball spirit of "Arrested Development," this promising ensemble family comedy is produced by "Saturday Night Live" guru Lorne Michaels.

"What About Brian" (March premiere). "7th Heaven's" Barry Watson stars as Brian in the lighthearted drama about a group of Los Angeles friends. Everyone's married or romantically entangled but Brian. Maybe he should audition for "The Bachelor."

"The Evidence" (spring premiere). Crime time. Rob Estes of "Melrose Place" portrays a San Francisco police detective still carrying the emotional wounds of his wife's unsolved murder in a new procedural.

CBS

"Love Monkey" (9 p.m. Jan. 17). Dating games. Tom Cavanaugh ("Ed") stars as a single, 30-something New York record executive juggling work, romance and friendship in a comic drama based on a best-selling book by Kyle Smith. Jason Priestley and Larenz Tate ("Crash") are two of Cavanaugh's buddies.

"Courting Alex" (8:30 p.m. Jan. 23). Dharma, is that you? Yep, Jenna Elfman returns to the Planet Sitcom as a single, attractive, semi-workaholic Manhattan lawyer looking for romance. Fellow lawyer Dabney Coleman plays her father.

"The Unit" (March premiere). Testosterone City. Dennis Haysbert, Scott Foley and Robert Patrick head the cast of the action drama about a team of globe-trotting Special Forces operatives. Produced by hard-guy storytellers Shawn Ryan ("The Shield") and David Mamet ("Glengarry Glen Ross").

NBC

"Four Kings" (7:30 Thursday). Four lifelong buddies hit the real estate jackpot, sharing the spacious Manhattan apartment one of the friends inherits from his dead grandmother. Seth Green ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") is the snarky smart-aleck of the skirt-chasing group in a sitcom from the makers of "Will & Grace."

"Scrubs" (8 p.m. Tuesday; began this week). Calling Dr. Chucklehead. J.D. (Zach Braff) and his friends and tormentors at Sacred Heart Hospital return for another season of screw-loose fun in the quirky, colorful medical sitcom.

"The Biggest Loser: Special Edition" (8 p.m. Wednesday). Fighting the fat. A short run, five-episode spin-off of the popular weight-reduction contest features families and engaged couples.

"The Book of Daniel" (8 p.m. Friday). Are you talking to me, Jesus? Yes, Jesus has a speaking part in this darkly irreverent drama about an unconventional Episcopalian minister (Aidan Quinn) hooked on painkillers and dealing with his mixed-up, shook-up family.

"Windfall" (Spring premiere). Money, honey. Luke Perry ("Beverly Hills, 90210") and Jason Gedrick ("Boomtown") are two of the 20 friends who share $38 million from their winning lotto ticket in a tangled, "Lost"-influenced drama that follows the fates of many different characters.

FOX

"Trading Spouses" (8 p.m. Friday). Plugging the hole left by the cancellation of gruesome crime procedural "Killer Instinct," Fox trots out new episodes of the gruesomely cheesy reality sideshow.

"24" (7 p.m. Jan. 15-16). Let's get it on. The signature Fox suspense thriller cranks up a new season of cliff-hanger thrills when Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) returns to save the world again after national security is treacherously breached. The fifth season kicks off with a four-hour, two-night special premiere. Airs regularly at 9 p.m. Mondays starting Jan. 23.

"American Idol" (7 p.m. Jan. 17-18). Is there another William Hung out there somewhere? God forbid. But as usual, sarcastic Simon Cowell and his pals launch another season of the pop music talent search juggernaut with a series of audition specials that feature the tone-deaf and talent-challenged.

"Skating with Celebrities" (7 p.m. Jan. 23). Fall down, go boom. Hey, it's "Dancing with the Stars" on ice as B-list folks like Bruce Jenner, Jillian Barberie ("Fox NFL Sunday") and "Full House" star Dave Coulier team up with real figure skaters. Special premiere at 9 p.m. Jan. 18 following "American Idol."

"The Loop" (Spring premiere). A madcap corporate satire about a wonderboy junior executive (Bret Harrison, "Grounded for Life") who lives with his less career-obsessed friends in Chicago.

UPN

"South Beach" (8 p.m. Wednesday). Paradise calling. Two guys (Chris Johnson, Marcus Coloma) leave Brooklyn behind and head for Florida to seek their bliss among the beautiful people, sandy beaches and hot spots of trendy South Beach in a slick, shallow drama series.

"Get This Party Started" (8 p.m. Jan. 24). "Laguna Beach" teen queen Kristin Cavallari and "Extra" infotainer Ethan Erickson host the reality show that follows an elite team of party planners to the stars as they cook up elaborate surprise parties for ordinary, deserving people.

WB "Beauty and the Geek" (8 p.m. Jan. 12). The sweet, cheerful and silly summer reality hit — nerdy guys team up with pretty girls in contests of social and intellectual skills — returns for a new season. "Beauty and the Geek" audition special airs Wednesday.

"Pepper Dennis" (March premiere). Breaking news! Rebecca Romjin plays a glamorous, self-confident Chicago TV newswoman who gets goofily bent out of shape by the station's dashing new anchorman (Josh Hopkins) in a new comedy.

"The Bedford Diaries" (Spring premiere). Let's talk about sex. They do a lot of that in this college drama about students taking a course called "Sexual Behavior and the Human Condition."

ON HIATUS UNTIL SPRING

"Everwood" (8 p.m. March 16, WB). The warmhearted Colorado mountain family drama, starring Treat Williams, returns from a winter vacation in Hiatusville.

"Prison Break" (7 p.m. March 13, Fox). The sharp cellblock suspense thriller begins its spring season with an encore of November's fall season finale and then kicks off new episodes March 20.

CABLE:

"Battlestar Galactica" (9 p.m. Friday, Sci Fi). The dark, compelling space odyssey jumps back into action

"The L Word" (9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime). The clever, high-gloss lesbian soap opera begins a third season.

"American Chopper" (9 p.m. Monday, Discovery). The Teutul family vroom-vroom platoon is back for more customized motorcycle fun and mischief.

"The Shield" (9 p.m. Jan. 19, FX). Andy Sipowicz was Little Bo Peep compared to Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), the bad cop heart and soul of television's toughest crime drama. And for the fifth season, Forrest Whitaker ("The Crying Game") joins the cop shop games as a wily internal affairs officer determined to bring Mackey down.

"Monk" (9 p.m. Jan. 13, USA Network). Whodunit? The obsessive San Francisco sleuth (Tony Shalhoub) returns with fresh mysteries in his fourth entertaining season.

"Hu$tle" (9 p.m. Jan. 14, AMC). Robert Vaughn ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E.") heads a crew of London-based con artists in a stylish caper drama that's already a hit in England and now comes to the United States as a BBC/AMC co-production.

"The Sopranos" (8 p.m. March 12, HBO). Having skipped all of 2005, Tony Soprano should be well rested, hungry for some baked ziti and ready to hatch nasty business with his Jersey mob associates down at the Bada Bing club.

"Big Love" (9 p.m. March 12, HBO). Hello, controversy. The newest HBO drama follows the provocative, polygamous odyssey of suburban Salt Lake City resident Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), his three wives and their seven children. Hoo, boy.

"Thief" (FX, March). Say, didn't you used to be Det. Frank Pembleton? Yes, it's "Homicide" star Andre Braugher. But now he's on the wrong side of the law, heading the ensemble cast of a crime drama that follows the lives of a team of professional thieves whose latest high-stakes heist is headed for big trouble.

"Huff" (Showtime, spring). The tormented life of a Los Angeles psychiatrist (Hank Azaria) and his eccentric, loving family is at the heart of this darkly comic, Emmy Award-winning drama, which begins a second season.