Fall TV Season Preview Volume 1

Face it, the summer TV season was horrid. The only thing I watched with any regularity, as my readers know, was "On The Lot", and that got tiring enough that I stopped blogging the last two weeks of the show (for the record, I was happy Will won it and disgusted by the obvious taping of his meeting with Spielberg. You just know all three finalists had a piece in the can for whoever won.).
Now we're still three weeks away from the start of the new season so what can I do? I've heard some of the hype about some of the shows and hereby offer my predictions on the fate of a few before they even hit the air:
"Kid Nation" (CBS): This one has already been getting a lot of bad press and I admit I have qualms about this show myself. A reality show about kids setting up their own society in an old west ghost town, it has caught flack about possibly violating child labor laws and lack of adult supervision. I'm sure the adult supervision was there medically speaking and CBS may have indeed violated no state laws in New Mexico, where it was filmed. My problem is with exploiting children for the purpose of entertaining us. The difference between this show and a regular sitcom or drama is in this case, the kids aren't paid (reality show cast members aren't paid). I don't plan to watch this show, I hope it fails and I hope the kids who participated don't suffer any permanent scars.
"Cavemen" (ABC): Based on the Geico commercial characters. I saw about ten minutes of the pilot episode. I think it'll be one of the first cancellations.
"Bionic Woman" (NBC): A revamping of the 70's show, it is apparently tops in name recognition among viewers. Still, I think this will go down the tubes, as one superhero show like "Heroes" will be enough for viewers.
"Back To You" (Fox): Fox has high hopes for this show, featuring the return of Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton to series TV. I have high hopes for it too. I'm putting it down as a potential hit.
"Viva Laughlin" (CBS): A musical, yes a musical drama. I don't think that has been attempted since Steven Bochco tried it on a cop show about 15 years ago. Hopefully it will be another 15 years after this one tanks.
"Dirty Sexy Money" (ABC): Peter Krause of "Six Feet Under" stars as an attorney representing a spoiled rich Hilton-type family. I hate the title, but I hope it succeeds just because I like Krause!
"Kane" (CBS): This one hasn't been hyped a lot. Jimmy Smits stars as the patriarch of a Hispanic family. If this is written well, it could be a surprise hit with the rapidly growing Hispanic population.
"Pushing Daisies" (ABC): This is getting great buzz from the critics. It touches on the supernatural, romantic comedy and detective show all in one. Think along the lines of "Moonlighting". I am definitely giving this one a shot and it could be the breakout hit of the year.
That's Volume 1 of my pre-season predictions. Volume 2 coming soon.