The four CBS show panels on Friday involved four of the five new programs the network is rolling out in the fall (there was no panel for Gary Unmarried, or whatever they're calling it today, because Jay Mohr and his wife Nikki Cox are renewing their vows overseas). While the panels for The Mentalist, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, and Worst Week had their moments, none of them were particularly newsworthy or interesting.

At least Diane Ruggiero, the creator of The Ex List, was entertaining enough to keep me from jabbing a pen in my arm to keep me awake. In fact, she might have actually convinced me to watch The Lake House, as long as I have a drink in my hand.

It looks like the American version of Eleventh Hour is already heading to series. The Bruckheimer-produced series is based on the short-lived ITV series of the same name which starred Patrick Stewart and Ashley Jensen. It will be shown on CBS and the selected showrunners will be Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff, formerly of Sleeper Cell.

The British version of the show has developed something of a cult following, despite the fact that only four two-part episodes were aired. It is science fiction, but it tries to be very realistic science fiction. It's mood is closer to CSI than to most of the more fantastic sci-fi shows out there.