It's pilot time again and this season the networks have decided to turn back the clock, specifically on old cop and crime shows, to save their sinking ratings.

For instance, NBC is bringing back the mystery series 'The Rockford Files' with Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner turned into a classic TV crime fighter. CBS has also ordered a remake of the procedural cop classic 'Hawaii Five-O' with Scott Caan and Jean Smart.

Normally, my gut reacts to a TV remake the same way a person who just washed his car reacts to a line of dark clouds (a lot of cursing and shaking of fists at God or some other celestial being). However, if done right, anything has the chance to be good... unless it's one of the following cop serials, which should never be touched by a TV producer ever again.

There are two groups of people who get really excited about pilot season: L.A. actors hoping for a break and television writers. Being a member of the latter category, I admit to a tingly feeling creeping over me as word of the shows in development at all the big networks are starting to leak out. While most people are attributing feelings of renewal to the change in the weather, I'm happily anticipating what J.J. Abrams has in store for us this fall.

It looks like the McNamara's of 'Nip/Tuck' won't be getting back together anytime soon. With the popular FX series wrapping its run this season, The Hollywood Reporter tells us that both Dylan Walsh and Joely Richardson, who played the couple, have scored roles in new pilots.

One of the fun things about long-running series coming to an end is speculating on what kind of roles the actors will wind up in next. While some go to movies, and some seem to fade away into behind-the-scenes work, or even other professions entirely, many immediately look to continue working on existing and new series.

After getting so familiar with seeing an actor or actress in a certain role, it can be jarring to try and imagine them as a completely different character. For example, Walsh will be going from a smooth plastic surgeon to a bad-ass government agent, while Richardson is transforming into a high-powered attorney.

Even though the popularity of the family sitcom is starting to wane a bit, ABC has picked one up for their primetime schedule.

It's called 'Southern Discomfort' from writer Chad Kultgen and former 'Cheers' writer Rob Long who has filled its executive producer chair along with Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.

It's described as a multicamera series surrounding a father who lets his grown children move back in with him. So far, no big names have been attached to the cast, but who do you think would be the perfect actors or actresses to play such a part?

Hey, TV fans: Do you like medical dramas, ensemble comedies, and shows about Las Vegas? The major networks hope you do, since they bought six series pilots yesterday that could make those elements staples of this fall's primetime schedule.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC bought three pilots, including a new medical drama from 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice' creator Shonda Rhimes, as well as a medical/crime procedural and a comedy about a group of young adult friends. Fox picked up another group comedy, centering on an Indian-American family. Set in Vegas are a new NBC pilot from the makers of 'Reno 911!' and a CBS buddy cop drama.

Here's our breakdown of the six new pilots and their chances for success.

Alphas -- a science fiction/action pilot that certainly has nothing to do with Heroes on NBC -- just got picked up by Syfy. The network would also like to assure you that their new show has nothing to do with Heroes.

The 90-minute adventure has been kicking around Hollywood for a couple years now. Alphas tells the story of "a team of ordinary citizens who possess hyperdeveloped neurological abilities."

That sounds nothing like Heroes at all -- which is fortunate because Syfy is a member of the NBC/Universal family of networks.

Hey, it looks like all that time the strike has allowed network executives to rethink the industry may actually lead to some positive changes after all. NBC's president/CEO Jeff Zucker explained how the struggling net is changing its whole strategy on television.

The days of the $10 million dollar mini-movie pilot, which bears no resemblance to later episodes done for less than $100,000 each, appear to be over at NBC. Instead, more series will be committed to based on script treatments alone, and rather than make sixty-two pilots and throw them all at the wall, they'll focus on maybe five or six. And you can forget about the lavish "upfronts" where they unveil a circus cavalcade of wasted money ... and their new pilots. Cable's been doing it this way for years. Now let's analyze where the most talked about shows on television are being broadcast.