The fun (and confusion) never...
The fun (and confusion) never stops as the networks continue scrambling their schedules, with a new wave of mid-season changes kicking in the instant the Olympics and February sweeps conclude.
As a helpful guide to get you through the exhausting month of March, here's a night-by-night rundown of what to expect (until the next changes are announced):
March 1: After a 90-minute American Idol, Fox airs a preview of quasi-improvised slacker sitcom Free Ride (it will regularly air on Sundays starting March 12, replacing American Dad for a while). Invasion is preempted for the annual Oscar-themed Barbara Walters Special, which for the first time is not airing on Oscar night.
March 2: Skating with Celebrities airs its finale, following an Idol results show.
March 3: Las Vegas moves to Fridays, as a lead-in to the new Dick Wolf drama Conviction (which actually looks more like a David E. Kelley show, and I don't mean that as a compliment).
March 4: Dateline bounces from Friday to Saturday.
March 5: Oscar night. Nothing else matters.
March 6: While Fox airs a two-hour 24, ABC replaces The Bachelor with the return of Supernanny and the new medical reality show The Miracle Workers.
March 7: ABC's best new comedy in ages, Sons & Daughters, premieres with back-to-back episodes opposite Scrubs (gee, thanks). NBC rearranged its deck chairs, reviving Joey with back-to-back episodes (one a repeat) at 8 pm/ET. CBS premieres the action drama The Unit, sandwiched between NCIS and The Amazing Race.
March 8: Bones moves to 8 pm/ET, opposite the two-hour premiere of America's Next Top Model's new season. Project Runway airs its finale, leading into the premiere of Bravo's Top Chef at 11 pm/ET (which moves into Runway's time period the following week). FX premieres the provocative race-switching reality-documentary series Black. White.
March 9: American Idol settles on its top 12, while Beauty and the Geek 2 wraps its entertaining second season.
March 10: A night of Sci Fi Friday finales, with Battlestar Galactica's season cliff-hanger expanded to 90 minutes.
March 12: The long-awaited return of The Sopranos on HBO, paired with the polygamy drama Big Love.
March 13: Julia Louis-Dreyfus' buzzed-about new comedy, The New Adventures of Old Christine, premieres at 9:30 pm/ET, replacing Courting Alex, which replaced Out of Practice. (Practice and Alex will move to Wednesdays starting March 22.)
March 14: American Idol begins its classic countdown with the top 12 contestants performing and one being eliminated each week. Meanwhile, USA Network kicks off a new season of Nashville Star.
March 15: Fox previews another annoying coming-of-age comedy, The Loop, after Idol. Loop moves to Thursdays after That '70s Show the following night.
March 16: Supernatural takes root after Smallville on Thursdays, taking on CSI, The O.C. and the two-hour premiere of the new ABC reality show American Inventor.
March 17: Sci Fi brings the latest incarnation of Doctor Who to America at 9 pm/ET. WB premieres a new sitcom, Modern Men, at 9:30 pm/ET, following Reba.
March 19: A Prison Break marathon of Episodes 8-13, plus a behind-the-scenes recap special, airs on FX starting at 12 pm/ET.
March 20: Prison Break returns from hiatusville with new episodes leading into 24, making for a night of nonstop suspense.
March 21: The Shield finale, with 10 more episodes to be filmed later, possibly not to air until next January. Still no word about whether this will be the final season. Bravo premieres a new season of Blow Out and introduces us to The Real Housewives of Orange County in a new reality series.
March 22: Busy night. Out of Practice and Courting Alex form a new comedy hour at 8 pm/ET. (Yes, Dear and Still Standing will have already wrapped their seasons.) Law & Order moves to 9 pm/ET, leading into NBC's new serialized thriller Heist. On ABC, Invasion goes on hiatus, making way for yet another crime procedural, The Evidence. And Fox premieres a bizarre new reality show, Unan1mous, following Idol results at 9:30 pm/ET. This one sounds like a particularly odious twist on the Big Brother concept.
March 23: ABC presents a limited-run reality offshoot, Extreme Makeover: After the Storm, leading into American Inventor.
March 27: WB finally rescues Everwood from limbo (a week later than previously announced) and will air it where it belongs, after 7th Heaven.
March 28: NBC adjusts its comedy schedule again, with Joey episodes leading into one "encore" Scrubs episode, one original Scrubs episode and the premiere of the new sitcom Teachers.
March 29: WB premieres the new sex-ed drama The Bedford Diaries.
March 31: WB replaces an hour of so-called comedy with the new reality series Survival of the Richest at 8 pm/ET.
Don't even try to memorize this. Chances are excellent that some of this will change before it ever happens, and who knows how long some of these shows will even last before they're yanked for something else?
But don't say you haven't been warned. Forget lions and lambs. March is coming in and going out a complete mess.
