CBS won’t be re-upping with The Unit.

Was it a chain reaction after NBC opted out of Medium and CBS decided snag the psychic crime series, or was the military drama always doomed? We suspect the latter.

The Unit has been teetering on cancellations almost from the time it jumped out of the starting gate in March 2006. The Unit posted a respectable audience of 15 million before dropping each season to little more than 9 million viewers.

But despite some tawdry affairs depicted in the series, it’s never been a particularly sexy show for CBS. And CBS wants to have some flash, and to keep far away from its former image as the network drawing the most viewers over the age of 50.

The intense fan base has tried to keep the show on the air, but unlike the Chuck Subway campaign, where fans sparked the sandwich chain to actually sponsor the show, there were no big sponsors willing to go to bat for The Unit.

At a little under $3 million an episode, it’s one of the cheaper series to produce. But the networks are still trying to get the costs down on every show they pick up. The preferred method has been pay cuts or freezes. And that was something star Dennis Haysbert, who plays Jonas Blane on the series, wasn’t willing to do, according to an interview with him in the LA Times.

“There are a number of factors that go into whether I want it back or not,” Haysbert told the paper concerning both his salary and the creative direction of the show. “It’s been a great ride and, if I don’t work with these people again, I’ll certainly play golf with them.”

So in the words of Blane, “You, you and you…panic. The rest of you, come with me.” And we’ll give you five reasons why The Unit should have stayed on the air.

5. There are few scripted shows that parade a banner of nobility and love of country like The Unit. While it doesn’t shrink from controversy, it tells a story that isn’t being explored in a TV landscape that loves dark heroes. House may save your life, but you don’t want to invite him to the neighborhood barbecue. These are good ol’ boys serving their country, and darn proud to do it.

4. Ratings for the show weren’t horrible, but while the ratings were higher than other CBS shows that were picked up, the audience skewed towards older viewers. The median age was around 55, which might just as well spelled dead zone to advertisers. But we contend that this is exactly the group that probably has money to spend right now, and isn’t squirreling away every last cent for fear of getting booted from their jobs.

3. CBS has become the home of the procedurals. We’ve got ghost whispers – and soon another talkin’-to-dead-people crime fighter. We’ve got crime scene investigations in three different cities, and even a military crime team. And, as is the case with all the networks, you can’t swing a stethoscope without hitting a doctor show. Two of the new CBS series are doctor shows. But what is in short supply around the eye-land is a straight drama like The Unit.

2. Before Barak Obama, there was President David Palmer, the honorable man who served as our nation’s president. OK, it was just on 24, but Palmer set a tone. So when the actor, Dennis Haysbert, was recruited to head up the team at The Unit, you knew this was a man to be reckoned with. We could use a few more good men like Jonas on TV.

1. The Unit was written and produced by
Shawn Ryan
(The Shield) and created and written by respected Tony and Oscar-nominee David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, American Buffalo). Mamet’s got a distinctive dialogue style. So when you want to brush this off as just a conservative bent military show, save the dismissive attitude and remember that two of the best dramatic writers around, Ryan and Mamet, helmed The Unit. They served proudly. They never talked down to their audience, and while leaving the door open just in case of a last minute stay of execution, they gave a satisfying season ender to their fans.

Scratch that. It does get worse for Sam and only funnier for those watching his crazy antics in this almost flawless pilot. The only problem with this first episode is the fear that the producers can never quite come up with other episodes to compare with this first one out of the gate.

CBS has given this nimble comedy series a perfect spot on the schedule at 9:30 p.m. Monday right after the hilarious testosterone filled “Two and a Half Men.” The humor sensibilities of these two series should mesh perfectly for viewers.

From the time we first meet Sam (Kyle Bornheimer), the laughs come fast and furious. Don’t look for the typical sitcom style of joke after joke. The slapstick humor can melt anyone into a laughing puddle if you’re the kind of person who loves the kind of humor that makes you almost want to cover your eyes while the situation unfolds or thinks someone taking a tumble is the highest form of comedy.

And tumble he does. Sam takes more falls than a stuntman as he bumbles along in his quest.
Sam’s a magazine editor who has a pathological urge to please his beautiful girlfriend Melanie’s upper class parents. They, in turn, can barely acknowledge him as being any more than just a friend to their beloved Mel (Erinn Hayes). Kyle Bornheimer plays Sam with a sweetness that makes his horrific blunders just that much harder to watch.

The series is based on the brilliant British comedy by the same title and many of the situations have been lifted directly from the two season-and-a-special series. All told, the Brit version lasted for a total of 14 episodes in two seasons, capped by a triple episode Worst Christmas special.

It’s from the latter that the American version has harvested most of the laughs. In the British version the first week revolves around the wedding and the second around the birth of their child. In the American version, we know that Sam has caused some major damage when he last visited Mel’s parents, including doing something horrible to their electric system in the house.

Now, Sam’s back to spend a week in their upscale world as the family celebrates dad Dick’s birthday. Dick (Kurtwood Smith) lives up to his name. He’s a stern, steely man who makes no effort to disguise his distaste for Sam. Mel’s mom Angela (Nancy Lineham) embodies her angelic name, yet even Angela can’t quite keep it together around Sam once he becomes the catalyst for chaos around the house.

But the stakes are high for Sam. He and Melanie haven’t yet wed, but they have become engaged. And they are expecting their first child in about eight months. The clock is ticking for Sam as he tries to make his future in-laws and the grandparents of his baby come to accept and perhaps even like him.

As for Sam, his all-consuming passion to please digs him into holes that just keep getting bigger and bigger.

Producer Matt Tarses cops to taking a lot of the wacky situations in the British version and putting the best bits into his Americanized version. But there are some strong differences between the two.

“I think one of the distinctions between this show and the British show for me was that I felt like in the British show there were times when the wife was as mad at the lead character as anyone else,” Tarses told TV writers in July. “And in those moments, I kind of got mad. I checked out on that guy myself. I kind of felt like if she doesn’t like him — and she was the last one who liked him — then why should I bother liking him?”

Tarses said he wanted to make sure that Mel was always on Sam’s side in his version of the series.
It’s been difficult for American producers to capitalize on good British shows, but Greg Daniels showed with “The Office” that the American version can come into its own under the right cast and crew. If the producers of “Worst Week” can keep working at the same level we see in the pilot, this could well become a legendary series.

“It’s a preserve and the animals are used to having people around all the time, so it wasn’t that big of a deal to them,” Probst says after his recent return from filming the latest version of Survivor in Gabon. “In Gabon, they told us in advance that this would be completely different. These animals were not used to seeing any body around and if you see an elephant, it’s a big deal because you just don’t know how they are going to react.”

Probst says that during one Survivor:Gabon interview, a giant elephant came within 50 yards of the film crew.

“It was thrilling and scary at the same time,” Probst says. “This elephant will stomp on you. There were moments in the filming when survivors interacted with the animals and it felt like being in a Spielberg movie.”

At one point, a 12-foot python slithered into the camp, and someone had the bright idea of using it as a prop for a promo shot with Probst. The crew tried to reassure Probst they could stop the snake from squeezing him to death if it tried. Heck, the worst thing would be Probst might get a nasty, but not fatal, bite.

“They put the snake around my neck and I was holding the head while it was moving and I kept reminding myself that this was not a quote trained L.A. snake, unquote, but one that just crawled out of the jungle,” Probst says. “I held him for about five minutes while I had flashbacks to another promo about three years ago doing the snake thing with (so-called) trained snake. It bit the trainer, a full on clamp on the wrist. (On our shoot) we got some great still shots of me with the snake, but I wasn’t going to tempt things for too long.”

CBS website has this snake, but not the picture with snake and Jeff Probst for “SURVIVOR: GABON – EARTH’S LAST EDEN,” which begins its 17th installment at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 on CBS. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Last time Survivor” went to Africa, they called it the most boring cycle every.
OK, maybe that was just me. But with the dry plains instead of those subtropical and beach shots, the series had all the tension of watching paint dry. What more can you say about a series that includes rolling boulders as a challenge? And the contestants? Sleeping pills on steroids.

When the high points include some Virginia farmer named Big Tom Buchanan dong the chicken dance to “chicken in a bread basket picking out dough” or some blah, blah, blah, blah do-si-do stuff, you know you’re in trouble.

Did you miss those golden moments? We’re here to share a few more with you:

10. The beans fiasco: Clarence Black decides to swipe a can of beans – ah, remember the good old days when the Survivors actually started out with food items? He fed some of the beans to Diane Ogden, and that resulted in her being the first booted off the continent. Clarence, deemed untrustworthy, got canned in the seventh round.
9. Reverse order: Before Clarence got voted off, he made some “Survivor” history by pooping on national television and then getting startled by a herd of elephants afterwards.
8. Big controversy: In the final episode, the contestants were quizzed on trivia regarding their fallen comrades. The producers didn’t know that the question, “Which female contestant has no piercings” actually had two correct answers. Kim Johnson responded with the official answer, Kelly Goldsmith, while Lex van den Berghe answered with the second correct tribe member, Lindsey Richter. Lex ended up finishing third.
7. Most honest clothing: Kelly, who wore a T-shirt that proclaimed “Shameless.”
6. Picture speaks louder than words: While our host Jeff Probst talks about how the tribes people would never hurt a cow, the camera cuts to a scene where a local shoots an arrow in a cow’s throat so the Survivors can drink the bovine’s blood in a challenge
5. Most memorable introduction : When Probst introduces a tribesman with the sentence, “You guys remember Charles from when we drank blood.”
4. Archie Bunker memorial scene: Yes, we’re back with Big Tom, the southern farmer guy. During a food auction, he gets teammate Ethan to go in half with him to buy the mystery food. Turns out it’s a big ham-bacon-and-eggs breakfast and Tom decides to go into a frenzy singing “He’s a Jew” and won’t eat the meat. Oh, very nice Tom.
3. Most disturbing dance : No, it wasn’t when the overall-clad Big Tom dancing the chicken dance. It was when he opted to stick a feather where the sun don’t shine and shake his bon-bon.
2. What were you thinkin?: In the finals, Kim J ends up winning the last two immunity challenges. She can choose to go up against either good guy Ethan or spawn of Satan Lex. For some reason, she chooses to go into the final tribal council with Ethan. It was a million dollar error on her part.
1. All for the best: While bad for Kim J. personal fortunes, her decision to take Ethan Zohn into the finals with her resulted in one of the best uses of “Survivor” money ever. Ethan and his friends started a philanthropic organization, grassroot soccer which provides African youths with the knowledge, life skills and support to deal with HIV-AIDS issues.

“This isn’t like the last African Survivor,” Jeff said in an interview after he returned from shooting the series last month. “These aren’t wild animals who are used to seeing people around. This is really out where it’s dangerous.”

Jeff Probst, host of SURVIVOR: GABON – EARTH’S LAST EDEN, is pictured on the new tribal council set for the seventeenth installment of the Emmy Award-winning reality series, which premieres Thursday, Sept. 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Photo: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS

Today, CBS released the cast of “Survivor: Gabon” as well as this Survivor clip.

The 18 castaways will compete on “Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden” in a two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 on CBS.

“In a strange coincidence to Earth’s Last Eden – good vs. evil emerges as a major theme this season. I think the audience will quickly identify with one group or the other,” host Jeff Probst teases in the press release. Will the group of deceitful castaways outlast those individuals who play from their heart or will the forces of evil prevail? Will temptations interfere with logical decision-making? More importantly, which side will come out on top?

This season, for the first time, the show will be shot in HD.

“Shooting in HD is like adding another character to the show,” Probst says in the press release. “The detail is so sharp you can’t help but feel as though you are experiencing the adventure yourself.”

(Back Row-Standing) Michelle Chase, Charlie Herschel, Paloma Soto-Castillo, Corinne Kaplan, Crystal Cox, Dan Kay, Jessica Kiper, Ace Gordon, Jacquie Berg, Kelly Czarnecki, Marcus Lehman, Matty Whitmore and Bob Crowley, (Front Row-Kneeling) Gillian Larson, Susie Smith, Ken Hoang, Randy Baily and Danny Brown are the 18 castaways set to compete in SURVIVOR: GABON – EARTH’S LAST EDEN when the seventeenth installment of the Emmy Award-winning reality series premieres Thursday, Sept. 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Castaways competing on SURVIVOR: GABON – EARTH’S LAST EDEN (in alphabetical order) are:

RANDY BAILEY

49

Eagle Rock, Mo.

Wedding Videographer

JACQUE BERG

25

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Medical Sales

DANNY “GC” BROWN

26

Portland, Ore.

Maintenance Man

MICHELLE CHASE

24

Los Angeles

Music Production Assistant

CRYSTAL COX

29

Durham, N.C.

Former Olympic Gold Medalist

ROBERT “Bob” CROWLEY

58

Portland, Maine

Physics Teacher

KELLY CZARNECKI

22

Buffalo Grove, Ill.

Retail Sales

ACE GORDON

27

Naples, Fla.

Jewelry Sales

CHARLIE HERSCHEL

29

New York

Lawyer

KEN HOANG

22

Westminster, Calif.

Professional Gamer

CORRINE KAPLAN

29

Los Angeles

Pharmaceutical Sales

DAN KAY

32

Boston

Lawyer

JESSICA “Sugar” KIPER

29

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Pin-up Model

GILLIAN LARSON

61

Temecula, Calif.

Retired Nurse

MARCUS LEHMAN

28

Atlanta

Doctor

SUSIE SMITH

47

Charles City, Iowa

Hairdresser

CBS Television…4

PALOMA SOTO-CASTILLO

24

Downey, Calif.

Student

MATTY WHITMORE

29

Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Personal Trainer

But the press conference just now was a real yawner. “I have no idea” is her favorite phrase. Followed by “I really can’t comment on that.”

I knew it was downhill when she use the term “authentic” when describing singers she likes and she admitted to using “pitchy” when describing a singer. Not good.

“For me what makes a great artist, or what makes an artist, is someone who is unique. Just because you can sing runs doesn’t mean your voice (will make you a star). It’s not about vocal acrobatics, it’s about being unique and being identifiable to you,” Kara said in one of her rare moments of expanding on her answers.

As to what she’s going to bring to “American Idol,” Kara says simply that “I have my own kind of style and people will have to watch.”

Well, of course we’ll watch. It looks like there might be a train wreck coming down the tracks.

But you can’t deny Kara knows what she’s doing in the song department with Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Walkaway,” Gwen Stefani’s “Rich Girl” and other hits. Check out these YouTube offerings:

Faith Hill’s Greatest Hits single “Lost” performed by co-writers Kara DioGuardi, the newest judge on Fox’s “American Idol” and Mitch Allan, with Dave Hodges on piano.

“Taking Chances” is the title track for Celine’s new album on which Celine sings an official solo version. Fox’s new “American Idol” judge Kara’s solo version is done by her band, Platinum Weird.

Never the most stable of people, Paula has reigned as the queen of “American Idol” until now. Fox announced there will be new judge in the house: songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

Never heard of her? Well how many people knew who Simon Cowell was before he sat down on the judges’ panel? We’ll have to see if Kara’s got the charisma. Or, more importantly, can talk in coherent sentences.

New “American Idol” judge is songwriter Kara DioGuardi.
2007 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara now sits alongside Paula, Simon and Randy Jackson at the judges’ table and will use her background as an award-winning songwriter and producer to praise or critique the wannabe hopefuls throughout the competition. The eighth season of AMERICAN IDOL premieres January, 2009, on FOX.

“We are turning the heat up on ‘Idol’ this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table,” said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”

Not that the producers are trying to usurp Paula.

“We had originally intended for AMERICAN IDOL to have four judges,” said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “We’ve seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers.”

Mike Darnell, President, Alternative Programming of Fox calls Paula “an island of consideration and gentle criticism between Randy and Simon, offering her invaluable expertise as a performer…with Kara by her side, Paula finally has some back-up and now there is going to be a lot more ‘girl power’ on the show.”

Umm. Maybe.

The press release says that Kara has worked with award-winning artists including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Santana, and Pink. Scores of major recording artists including Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Pussycat Dolls, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Ashley Tisdale, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Lachey and Marc Anthony have also released DioGuardi’s songs.

When “Dancing with the Stars” returns on Sept. 22 with a three-night event, ABC wants you to know that it marks the largest cast ever, the oldest (the bawdy Cloris Leachman), two Olympic Gold medalists, a Grammy winner, an Oscar winner (again, Cloris) and a Super Bowl champ.

But they are forgetting the biggest hook of all: They’ve got Brooke Shields’ high school prom date. Yep. Ted McGinley not only rocked on “Revenge of the Nerds,” but he also escorted Ms. Shields to her high school prom. You heard it here first folks. Well, maybe not first…

Ted McGinley with his wife Gigi Rice. McGinley
will be trying to boost his career with a turn on
ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

Any way, all four professional dancers who’ve previously tasted the thrill of victory return to compete against one another for bragging rights.

For the first time ever, all 13 teams must prepare two routines for the first week of competition, one of which they’ll perform on Monday night. The judges will score the performances on Monday while viewers cast their votes for their favorites. Only 12 will have the chance to showcase their second dance on Sept. 23.

On Tuesday’s show, one couple will be eliminated as the remaining contestants perform their second dance of the season. The judges will score the dances on Tuesday and viewers will once again cast their votes before a second duo is dismissed on Sept. 24.

Talk about a quick step.

As announced today on “Good Morning America,” in alphabetical order, the 13 stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:

LANCE BASS — Lance Bass has sold over 50 million records as a member of the phenomenally successful pop group *NSYNC. Lance has released his memoir, Out of Sync, for Simon Spotlight Entertainment. 2006 U.S. Youth Latin Champ and 2007 World Swing Dance Champ Lacey Schwimmer teams with Lance to make her series debut.

TONI BRAXTON – The winner of six Grammy Awards, Toni Braxton is a Billboard chart-topping singer and actress, selling over 40 million records worldwide. “Dancing with the Stars” marks her return to the spotlight after a six-month health hiatus. She teams up with Season One champion Alec Mazo, who returns for his fourth season.

BROOKE BURKE — A host, actress, entrepreneur and celebrity mom, Brooke Burke has truly done it all. She has graced numerous magazine covers, has her own top-selling swimsuit calendars and is regularly ranked in men’s magazines as one of the sexiest women in the world. Recognized worldwide as host of the travel series “Wild On!” Brooke teams with Derek Hough, who returns for his third season.

ROCCO DISPIRITO – The James Beard Award-winning celebrity chef and author Rocco DiSpirito opened the three-star Union Pacific in New York City in 1997. In 2003 he launched Rocco’s for the reality series “The Restaurant.” Rocco will next appear on the A&E series “Rocco Gets Real,” beginning in October, along with its companion cookbook, Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home Every Day. He teams with Karina Smirnoff, who returns for her fifth season. Karina teamed with R&B singer Mario last season.

MAURICE GREENE – The winner of two gold medals in the 100m sprint and the 4x100m relay at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, track star Maurice Greene was dubbed the “World’s Fastest Man” during his career. In addition to being the former world record holder in the 100m sprint and winning multiple world championships, he also won silver and bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. He is the current Indoor World Record holder in the 60m at 6.39 seconds. He teams up with two-time champion Cheryl Burke. Cheryl returns for her sixth season.

KIM KARDASHIAN — Actress, model and reality television star Kim Kardashian shot to the top of the tabloids with her E! reality series, “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” The series follows the exploits of Kim, her siblings, her mother, Kris, and her stepfather, Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner. Kardashian recently completed her first feature film, “Disaster Movie,” and will also be seen on The N’s series “Beyond the Break.” She teams up with defending champ Mark Ballas, who returns for his third season.

CLORIS LEACHMAN – Actress Cloris Leachman’s storied career has been recognized with nine Emmys, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Cloris has starred in a wide range of theater, television and motion picture projects, creating such indelible characters as Phyllis in the TV series “Phyllis” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Frau Blucher in “Young Frankenstein,” Nurse Diesel in “High Anxiety” and Ruth Popper in “The Last Picture Show” (for which she won an Oscar). In 2008 she has already completed three new films, “The Women,” “American Cowslip” and “New York I Love You.” She teams with World Latin Champion and Mark’s father, Corky Ballas, who makes his series debut.

CODY LINLEY — Cody Linley will be the youngest contestant ever to compete on “Dancing with the Stars.” He is best known for his role as Jake Ryan on “Hannah Montana.” He teams with two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champ Julianne Hough, who returns for her fourth season.

SUSAN LUCCI — As the most famous face in daytime television history, Susan Lucci plays “woman you love to hate,” Erica Kane, on ABC’s “All My Children.” She celebrates her 10,000th episode this November. She teams with Tony Dovolani, who returns for his sixth season.

MISTY MAY-TREANOR — Beach Volleyball champion Misty May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh captured their second Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and became the first team ever to repeat as back-to-back champs. She now joins a new teammate, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who returns for his fifth season.

TED MCGINLEY — Actor Ted McGinley’s extensive television credits include “Married…with Children,” “Hope & Faith,” “Happy Days.” Newcomer Inna Brayer will be paired with Ted. Inna is the current U.S. Amateur 10 Dance Champion.

JEFFREY ROSS — Comedian Jeffrey Ross, a.k.a. the “Roastmaster General,” was crowned by New York Magazine as “The Meanest Man in Comedy.” He teams with Edyta Sliwinska, who is the only pro to compete in all seven seasons of “Dancing with the Stars.”

WARREN SAPP – Recently retired defensive tackle and Superbowl Champion Warren Sapp played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders during his 13-year career. Warren is teamed with Kym Johnson, who returns for her fifth season.

Hosted by Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and Samantha Harris (“E! Entertainment”), the celebrities will perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

NBC Beijing Olympic Pin — NBC Universal Photo: Glenn Gracia

Now, the ceremony’s going to air at a new early start time at 7:30 p.m. Friday on NBC, which means you get to watch for a whopping 4.5 hours. And, really, with the viewing choices on Friday hovering around slim and none, why the heck not watch?

Still, NBC feels the need to tart it all up for you to prove that they are doing it because a preview just looked so gosh darned good.

“After seeing two dress rehearsals in the last week, it’s clear that this Opening Ceremony is simply spectacular and we’re thrilled to be able to add an extra half hour to begin Friday at a special early start time,” says NBC Sports honcho David Neal. “Zhang Yimou and his creative team have conceived a program that will captivate viewers in the U.S. and around the world.”

Well, maybe we’ve chosen to be too cynical too soon. Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (“Raise the Red Lantern,” “House of Flying Daggers”) has taken the creative helm as the chief director of both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

While the Opening Ceremony officially marks the start of the Beijing Olympic Games, Olympic competition actually begins with live opening round soccer matches on MSNBC. The USA women’s team faces Norway live Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. ET and the USA men take on Japan live Thursday at 4:30 a.m. ET.

NBC Universal, broadcasting its record 11th Olympics, will present an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic Games coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history featuring the most live coverage (nearly 2,900 live hours in total), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history.

Generally, the only outsiders watching that pilot would have been TV critics, but the pilot was leaked online and who knows how many people picked it up before Fox started the killing trail to get it off the Internet.

Good luck with that. (By the way, if you’re in San Diego next week, check out “Fringe” at Comic Con)

In any case, the We-Are-Not-The-X-Files series about conspiracies, FBI agents and crazy scientific series. The pilot proved entertaining, especially the scenes with “Dawson Creek” alum Joshua Jackson, who’s back in fine form, as the brilliant rebellious son of a fringe scientist; Aussie actress Anna Tory as the spunky FBI agent Olivia and John Noble as the fringy scientist. Think scary flick with a sense of humor.

2008 FOX SUMMER TCA: Executive producer and co-creator J.J. Abrams during the FRINGE session of FOX’s 2008 summer press tour Monday, July 14 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.

But “Lost” producer J.J. promises it won’t get too complicated. He says he learned his lesson from his previous series “Alias.”

“I was at my friend Greg Grunberg’s house. and alias was on, watched a few minutes and I was so confused, it was impenetrable,” J.J. says as he watched a scene play out. “I should know this, but who the fuck is that guy?”

Like “Lost,” J.J. says “Fringe” has an overall story and an end game. Good to know. Better still, he promises each episode will be self-contained for people who don’t want to get into the mythology.

“My point is that you can do a show that has week-to-week stories, but over the course of seasons, there are bigger arcs,” J.J. says. “I’m diligently trying to do a show that doesn’t require insane dedication.”

Yet, for many people that’s exactly the point of watching a series like this. So there are plenty of Easter eggs for the fanatics. Pay attention to the details, like the frogs and leaves shown at the breaks, they will become important down the line says J.J.

“The frogs and leaves work simply as weird imagery, but it is not disconnected to the series,” J.J. says. “It is part of the code of the series.”

As for the cow, when production moved from Toronto to New York City, they couldn’t take the Jersey cow used in the lab scenes with them. So they had to recast.

2008 FOX SUMMER TCA: (L-R) Executive producer Brian Burk, Jeff Pinkner, co-creators and executive producers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and J.J. Abrams during the FRINGE session of FOX’s 2008 summer press tour Monday, July 14 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.

Her injury was Comfort Feoke’s gain. Although Comfort was eliminated last week, she won’t miss a step as she returns to the show on Wednesday. Judge Nigel Lythgoe says it’s brave of Comfort to return, knowing she could get booted off a second time.

So why Comfort?

“She’s had some surprisingly beautiful moments, and every dancer can have some bad weeks,” Mary Murphy says. “So maybe this one more shot she’ll be able to knock our socks off.”

But more importantly Mary, how did Hot Tamale Train come about?

“It just flew out of my mouth one day,” says Mary, who also says she’s called hot Latin dancers hot tamales for a long time. “But now Fox owns it.”

As for show quitter Robert Muraine, who couldn’t handle the choreography, the judges were critical of the guy.

“No dancer should quit, ever,” says Nigel Lythgoe. “It’s a really tought life. Have a sprained ankle. strap it up and get on with it.”

There’s no crying in baseball, or dancing.

“You can’t be a victim. You have to be a warrior, ” says Mia Michaels, who talked about breaking two toes and then went back on stage. “Really, quitting? You can be at the top of your game?”

2008 FOX SUMMER TCA: (L-R) finalists Matt Dorame of Glendale, AZ and Kourtni Lind of Forest Lake, MN perform during the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE session of FOX’s 2008 summer press tour Monday, July 14 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.