Yesterday, FOX unveiled its Upfront presentation at the historic Beacon Theatre on Manhattan's Upper West Side. One of the reasons why TV critic types like the upfront presentations, even though they're designed and presented for advertisers and not journalists, is the potential for potshots from the executives and painful banter from the network's stars.

Neither really took place at FOX's presentation. Aside from network entertainment president Kevin Reilly getting a dressing down from Jane Lynch as 'Glee's' Sue Sylvester -- she made fun of his teeth, hair and "local weatherman" look -- and a slight jab at NBC from Reilly -- which, given his history with Jeff Zucker and company, is almost a reflex for him -- the presentation was straightforward and confident. That's what you get when you're first in primetime for six consecutive years, as the network's execs claimed.

But between the executives' celebratory talk and the rousing rendition of Madonna's 'Like A Prayer', which closed things out, FOX showed everyone previews of their new shows. And the new slate is interesting to say the least. Clips and comments are after the jump.

While the FOX folks were proud of their overall position, they decided to ride the 'Glee' rocket as far as they could. It makes sense; during the afterparty, held at the Wollman Rink in Central Park, the casts of all the shows took photos with the advertisers. There were popular groups -- Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford of 'The Good Guys' and Will Arnett and Keri Russell of 'Running Wilde' were especially crowded rope lines -- but the 'Glee' contingent, though, drew crowds that made the other shows look minuscule in comparison.

So, it's not a stretch to say that Reilly, Peter Rice, and the rest of the FOX execs are pinning a lot of their hopes on 'Glee,' especially as 'American Idol' starts to slip -- Reilly said, despite signs of 'Idol's' aging, that "I hope I look that good when I age" -- and they can't rely on old standbys like '24' anymore. The post -Super Bowl slot 'Glee' is getting is the biggest indicator of that. Let's just hope they don't ride that rocket straight into a second-season crash and burn.

Anyway, FOX's slate of new shows definitely takes some calculated risks. First up is 'The Good Guys,' which premieres on May 19 and runs into the fall. Since we're going to have review and preview posts about the show, I won't say much about it here. But here are some clips to whet your appetite:



'Raising Hope,' from 'My Name Is Earl's' Greg Garcia, bows this fall. It's about a dumb kid who finds out he has a daughter and enlists the help of the family that did a poor job of raising him. The preview they showed had that edgy, but not dirty, downhome feel that 'Earl' did, but with a baby mixed in. The only thing I can't abide by is seeing Martha Plimpton playing a grandmother. The woman's not even 40 yet, and only six months older than I am! It feels like she was playing teen in trouble roles just a few years ago.



'Ride-Along,' which bows in midseason, is produced by Shawn Ryan of 'The Shield.' It examines the lives of Chicago cops, and the battles with crime they fight every day. The unique aspects of the show are a) that it's shot in Chicago, and b) it's got the Shawn Ryan imprint. Oh, and it also has Jennifer Beals as the hottest big-city police chief ever depicted on television. How does Marsha Plimpton at 39 play a grandmother at 39 and Beals, who's 46, gets to play a police chief?

Anyway, from the preview, I'm not sure of what this show is all about, and I'm not sure if Ryan's signature rawness can translate to the network level. Still, this is the man who saved 'Lie to Me' from cancellation, so anything's possible.




Another midseason premiere, 'Bob's Burgers,' looks interesting. Tonally, it feels more like 'Adult Swim' with a tiny bit of Seth MacFarlane mixed in. It's from Lauren Bouchard, who brought us 'Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist.' The only thing I wonder is if having H. Jon Benjamin be the voice of Bob was a good idea. Not that he's not hilarious, but when I heard Bob, all I could think of was Sterling Archer.



Premiering this fall, 'Lonestar' involves corporate intrigue, big oil, con men, and love. The fact that it gives us both David Keith and Jon Voight on a regular basis is just a bonus. This kind of show isn't really my bag, but there's potential for it to become a big soapy hit. At least most of the people in the cast look and dress like adults.



We 'Arrested Development' geeks are eagerly anticipating the premiere of 'Running Wilde' this fall. Hey, anything involving Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett has to be good, right? (I choose to believe that 'Sit Down, Shut Up' never existed.) The clips shown at the presentation looked pretty funny, especially Arnett's desire to get a tiny horse just because tiny means it's more expensive.



'Mixed Signals,' a midseason relationship comedy from one of the writers of 'Wedding Crashers,' looks like a mixed bag. How many times have we seen shows about men in different stages of their love lives? One's the henpecked new father who hides in the back of his minivan just to get some peace, one's moving in with his girlfriend and thinks things will be different with him, the third is single and unapologetic. Even if this show is funny, why would we want to watch this 'Rules of Engagement' rehash? Because they make breast jokes? So does David Spade. We really don't need two mediocre sitcoms about this stuff, do we?



Finally, I'd put a clip up of 'Terra Nova,' the pre-historic drama from Steven Spielberg, Brannon Braga, and Peter Chernin, but all the network had were conceptual drawings. I expect lots of dinosaurs. Just a hunch.