Fox: You Win Some, You Lose Some

Fox, beginning its twenty-ninth season airing prime-time programming - twenty-six of those seasons including "The Simpsons" - this fall, and while it remains resistant to airing (almost) anything in the 10 PM Eastern hour, it does have new dramas that will likely pique people's interests.  One of them is "Gotham," a "Batman" prequel depicting Bruce Wayne and his villainous rivals in their formative years.  I'm immediately thinking of the Little Archies, the Flintstone Kids, and Disney Babies.  Wonder how long this will last.  Was Bruce Wayne ever Batboy? And did he ever get teased about working at baseball games? Sorry, that's the best I could do.

Also on tap is "Red Band Society," an American adaptation of a hospital drama from Spain.  Guess we Yanks have run out of BBC shows to rip off. ;-)

Although Zooey Deschanel has lost a bit of buzz, "New Girl" remains in place, in the apparent hope that she'll bounce back, and Mindy Kaling's "The Mindy Project" is returning also.  Not so for "Dads," a Martin Mull / Peter Riegert sitcom about two fathers moving in in with their hip grown sons.  I never saw it, but I'm sort of glad I didn't.  I remember Mull from the late seventies and early eighties - fondly, I might add - and I can't imagine a comedian of his coolness and caliber being in a lumpy old domestic sitcom.  (Three other Fox shows were axed.)

But here's an interesting-sounding show: "Utopia," a reality show based on a hit program in Holland that asks the question, "Does a perfect world exist?" It moves fifteen average Americans to an isolated, undeveloped location for a whole year and challenges them to create their version of an ideal civilization.  If they're Americans, they'll create a civilization with guaranteed medical insurance.  Now that would be utopia indeed.

Fox is moving away from relying so much on "American Idol."  Oh, it will still be around - there are plenty of undiscovered singers, I'm sure, who could become the next big country singer like Carrie Underwood or become the next great progressive politician like Clay Aiken - but its time as the prime-time talent show has passed.  And "The X Factor" has been Xed out.  With hits, misses, and everything in between, Fox seems to be treading carefully as it nears the end of its third decade in the air.

And one thing is airing after 10 PM Eastern - "Fox Sports Saturday," which will run from 7 PM to 10:30 PM in the East.  Hey, it's a start.

And are its promos still delivered in the language of  a command? ("Watch 'New Girl,' tonight on Fox!")

And "The Simpsons" will be back too, of course.

The full Fox 2014-15 lineup is here.