letterten 2010-11 fall preview

ABC \| CBS \| CW \| Fox \| NBC \|\| Sun \| Mon \| Tue \| Wed \| Thu \| Fri \| Sat \|\| Complete \|\| Main

	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
	My Generation Sep 23 Season 1		Grey's Anatomy Sep 23 Season 7 [Mar 27, 2005]		Private Practice Sep 23 Season 4 [Sep 26, 2007]
	Big Bang Theory Sep 23 Season 4 [Sep 24, 2007]	Shit/Dad Says Sep 23 Season 1	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Sep 23 Season 11 [Oct 6, 2000]		The Mentalist Sep 23 Season 3 [Sep 23, 2008]
	The Vampire Diaries Sep 9 Season 2 [Sep 10, 2009]		Nikita Sep 9 (encores, Fri Sep 10 & 17, 9pm) Season 1		Local Programming
	Bones Sep 23 Season 6 [Sep 13, 2005]		Fringe Sep 23 Season 3 [Sep 9, 2008]		Local Programming
	Community Sep 23 Season 2 [Sep 17, 2009]	30 Rock Sep 23 Season 5 [Oct 16, 2006]	The Office Sep 23 Season 7 [Mar 24, 2005]	Outsourced Sep 23 Season 1	The Apprentice Sep 16 (2-hr premiere, 9pm) Iteration 10 [Jan 8, 2004]

NBC Thursday 1984: Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, Hill Street Blues

Thursday is the battleground. Everyone is a player, yes, even The CW. CBS' move of Big Bang Theory to Thursday to create a one-hour comedy block with Shit My Dad Says is a bold one and a good one. As I mention elsewhere, it's the first time CBS starts a Thursday with a comedy since 1970. This block will beat NBC's pair of Community and 30 Rock without breaking a sweat. ABC's My Generation is the weakest entry of the evening, but win or lose, it's not going to hurt Grey's Anatomy.

The Vampire Diaries and Nikita on the CW, like most things on the CW, will generate buzz, but only small, yet loyal numbers. Nikita has one of the most competitive slots of any night to debut in. Fox's now venerable Bones leads into the return of Fringe, which has acquired a nice, if not small, following. NBC should immediately fire The Apprentice from Thursday and move Outlaw to 10pm.

The winner of the night will be The Big Bang Theory, followed by CSI for silver and Grey's for bronze.

Network-wise, CBS takes it all, followed by ABC and NBC.