Here's the highlight, for me, of NBC's upfront today: As I was leaving the midtown Hilton in New York City (which sat in for Radio City Music Hall, where the network usually holds its upfront), I was riding down an escalator while one Mr. Jerry Seinfeld was going up on the one right beside me.

Seinfeld ... Seinfeld, Jerry, a mere couple of feet away! I choose to pretend that 'The Marriage Ref' never happened, so he remains, for me, the star of the all-time greatest TV show. And, regarding today's network upfront, he was one of the rare celebrities to be seen around the ol' Hilton -- at least, on stage.

In years past, NBC, like the other networks, has peppered its upfront presentations with celebs, even if it was to do nothing more than trot them across the stage with the rest of their series casts. But today, there was the line-up of sportscasters from NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' and an awkward little segment in which the host of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' tried to improvise commercial jingles.

The point: While I like a good Al Michaels sighting as much as the next girl -- actually, probably a little more than the next girl; Al is a legend -- and it was impressive that Fallon could, off the top of his head, come up with a few words that rhyme with "Bing" (not like any pint-sized viewer of 'Sesame Street' could do the same thing ... Just sayin') ... where were all the pretty, famous (or even pretty-famous) people?

J.J. Abrams, a tube and movie producer with such a devoted following that he's probably more recognizable than half of the unknowns in NBC's line-up of new 2010-2011 fall and midseason series, was in the audience, and was milling about before the presentation began. Yet when NBC honchos Angela Bromstad and NBC West Coast chairman Jeff Gaspin introduced Abrams' new fall drama, 'Undercovers,' they didn't bring him on stage. Or even throw to him in the crowd for a quick wave and some clapping.

And other stars from NBC shows were, in fact, in the building, including the TV mom goddess that is Lorelai Gilmore, Lauren Graham. NBC execs even talked about how warmly Graham's new series, 'Parenthood,' has been greeted at the network, yet no sign of her on the upfront stage.

And that Seinfeld spotting? He was on his way in after the presentation ended, just in time for the lunch the network had invited upfront goers to. Not that there's anything wrong ... oh, wait, yeah, there is something wrong with that. NBC, dudes, if you can get Jerry to show up for a free lunch, ask him to arrive a bit earlier and crack wise on stage for a few minutes next time, hmmm? Some of us had to get back to work and would have appreciated even the briefest of glimpses of other celebs, instead of that endless segment with the 'SNF' fellas, especially since some of us didn't catch one of the footballs they tossed into the crowd.

But hey, at least they didn't roll out Jay Leno, and, even more wisely, didn't try to make lame jokes about the Conan/Leno/'Tonight Show' mess. Which is good, since Conan already used all the good ones.

Lack of star-power aside, NBC's presentation was all about getting upfront attendees to see that network execs are serious about climbing out of fourth place and have looked to big names like Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jimmy Smits, David E. Kelley and Kathy Bates to help them do it.

As for those new shows, a few reactions:

- The upfront audience was clapping slightly more loudly for 'The Event' than for Abrams 'Undercovers.' 'The Event,' about a grand conspiracy that involves the President of the United States ('Dirty Sexy Money's' Blair Underwood) and a regular guy (Jason Ritter, most recently seen on 'Parenthood') trying to find his MIA girlfriend, has a bit of a '24' vibe to it, while 'Undercovers,' starring 'Soul Food's' Boris Kodjoe and 'Doctor Who''s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, looks good, but slightly underwhelming. Specifically, Ritter's scruffier look is working for him in 'The Event,' but 'Undercovers' sort of feels like maybe Abrams has gone to the secret-CIA-ers well one too many times. Remember the pilot for 'Alias,' and how you knew it was going to be so mind-blowingly good at first glance? Not quite so with 'Undercovers,' though, given the show's pedigree, obviously worth checking out.

- The new Thursday night comedy 'Outsourced' at first appears to be one big joke about Indian culture, but delve in a little deeper and it definitely has potential. Aside from the fact that the whole outsourcing of jobs may hit a little too close to home for some viewers, the show appears to have a lot in common with 'The Office' as a workplace comedy populated by quirky, over-the-top characters, and the fact that the call center works for an American novelties company provides several silly laughs in the preview clip.

- 'Love Bites' ... well, especially with the cancellation of 'Heroes,' it's always good to see Greg Grunberg back on TV (and now comes news that he's going to be a 'Love Bites' regular). But in the vignette from the anthology series that NBC showed today, the big scene stealer is 'Office' star (and this summer's new host of 'Last Comic Standing') Craig Robinson, who producers may also want to try to sign up for a regular gig. As for guest star Jennifer Love Hewitt, I'm not sure it was her best decision to play herself, or a version of herself, who's ready to join the mile high club with a married man. Love bites, indeed.

- Nothing particularly standout about 'Outlaw,' though Jimmy Smits in his first series since that killer (pun intended) one-season stint on 'Dexter' is a good thing.

- David E. Kelley's latest crazy lawyer: Kathy Bates in 'Harry's Law,' a midseason drama about a group of "misfit" attorneys who open their own law firm/shoe store. Really. The storefront Bates and company use for the new firm used to be a shoe store, so her associate ('American Dreams' star Brittany Snow) suggests they sell the Jimmy Choos along with their legal services.

- And I've saved the best, by which I mean, the craziest, for last. The network showed a clip of its midseason drama 'The Cape' that was ... interesting. 'ER''s David Lyons plays a cop who's framed for murder and then believed to be dead. But, in the name of redeeming himself and eventually being able to return to his family, he takes on the identity of his son's favorite superhero and joins a circus, where he's trained -- in the circus trade? In the superheroing biz? We don't know -- by the fabulous Keith David, he of the classic "frank and beans" saga in 'There's Something About Mary.' It's all a bit of a mess, which could turn out to be really good in a 'Heroes' season one kinda way, or really funny, in an unintentional kinda way.