Today's other upfront: ABC

THE NEW

Commander-in-Chief stars Geena Davis as the first female President of the US, who assumes the office from the Vice Presidency after the elected President dies of some illness (but not before asking her to step down so someone "more appropriate" can take her place).

Cast includes Donald Sutherland and Kyle Secor (among others), and may just be interesting enough for me to watch. Until they make that first "joke" about nuclear weapons and POTUS's Aunt Flo, at which point I will stop watching and not return.

The first contender for becoming the Tony Danza of his generation is Freddie Prinze, Jr., thanks to his sitcom Freddie. He plays the title character (though wouldn't it be great if he didn't?), a chef who take in various generations of female relatives when his brother-in-law dies. Send it back!

Those sea creatures from Fathom may be involved in Invasion, a drama about a Florida park ranger whose daughter sees lights on the ocean during a hurricane. When his ex-wife turns up naked and without memories of where she was during the storm, his curiosity picks up. Turns out rather than riding the storm out on a bender, she may have been on the front lines of a battle for humanity.

Like Fathom, I've never heard of anyone starring in this show (though William Fichtner, who plays the local sherrif, looks familiar). Are we sure this and Fathom aren't the same show with slightly different edits? Would anyone notice?

David Cassidy continues his interest in freakiness with this show, while Thomas Schlamme may be suffering from some sort of post-The West Wing trauma.

The Night Stalker is a reprise of the 1970s show about a reporter named Carl Kolchak who investigates the supernatural to help solve his wife's killing. The original is supposed to be great, a kind of proto-The X Files, though I've never seen it. Given ABC's treatment of this kind of show, expect L.A. Night Stalker to anchor Saturday nights for three weeks in September 2006.

Unless its Thursday at 9 time slot proves deadly (giving CSI the chance to investigate a death it caused).

ABC blew up it's TGIF line-up - again - moving Supernanny to the first hour, keeping Hope and Faith and putting in new show Hot Properties, aka Sex and the Listings. It's a sitcom about four Manhattan-based women who work in a non-cutthroat real estate office. I am praying for David Mamet to take over the show for a sweeps period. Gail O'Grady and Nicole Sullivan star.

Two new show will debut when Monday Night Football makes its swan song: Emily's Reasons Why Not, aka Heather Graham's Diary, and What About Brian, a drama about a guy who is the last single man standing among his married friends. Rather than Jonathan Silverman, we get 7th Heaven's Barry Watson as Brian.

There are several listed mid-season replacements, most notable The Miracle Workers, aka Extreme Makeover: Terminal Edition. Every week, doctors use cutting edge medicine to save a patient with some sort of serious condition. Over/under on the number of episodes next season dealing with conjoined twins: three.

THE OLD

Hard to tell what was more surprising: the dumping of Eight Simple Rules and My Wife and Kids or the pick-up of Jake In Progress. Stamos must have some dirt.

It's easier to note what shows didn't move on the ABC schedule: current Sunday nights stay the same, and Lost stays in its Wednesday slot. Otherwise, check local listings.

The Bachelor will return in January - why? - and Less Than Perfect is slated for mid-season as well.

Outside of President Davis, none of the new stuff is really appealing. And it's a good thing I mostly watch ABC on Sunday; I won't have to go hunting for shows.