Remember way back last fall? ABC was knocking heads with the Dancing with the Stars results show at 8 and Lost at 9. Boy, how things have changed. The network has been getting kicked around by everyone since Emmit walked away with the big silver disco ball and Lost went into hibernation.

This past Wednesday was rock bottom. The network found itself in fourth place both in total viewers and the 18-49 demo. Most disturbing was the performance of the new sit-coms Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. They managed to attract just 3.58 and 2.98 million viewers respectively. They were up against American Idol, but still... Ouch.

ABC's answer? Move Knights of Prosperity to 8:30 and let According to Jim lead off that 9PM hour. Yeah, that should work. It is good news for fans of Knights. Going up against Bones is certainly an easier task than facing Idol, so it would seem that they are at least trying to give the show a fighting chance. Things don't look good for In Case of Emergency though.

If there's any part of the press tour that's hard it's a situation like this: imagine being in a room with the cast of a show no one really likes much, extolling its virtues to disbelieving ears. To fill the boredom, the uncomfortable stars and creators start cracking jokes that no one thinks are funny. On top of that, there aren't enough questions to fill the time, so reporters start getting creative in order to keep the discomfort level at a minimum.

That's what I got when I sat in on the panel for the new ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency.

ABC unveiled their new Wednesday night schedule yesterday, as Anna reported here. The big news is, of course, Lost moving to 10PM to duck American Idol and Criminal Minds. Gideon wins the Wednesday night slugfest by forfeit, I think. Crazy island adventure aside, aren't you wondering where Day Break went?

When Knights of Prosperity and In Case Of Emergency kick off on January 3rd at 9PM there will still be five more episodes of Brett Hopper's bad day. Could it be that the terrible ratings have finally caught up with the show and ABC is going to quit while they're behind? The other option is moving the show, but at this point I'm not sure the numbers will even allow them to do that.

They could stick a repeat Grey's Anatomy in any of the slots and easily get twice the audience. Added to that, there are still episodes of The Nine and Six Degrees in the can that are just as, if not more, deserving of any open slot. Day Break may be destined for the internet, and a complete series DVD set.

[ via Variety.com ]