In Fall 2009, ABC became the unlikely king of primetime, premiering a smattering of excellent new shows that have ended up grabbing a majority of critics' and viewers' adoration. Some may call it luck, but it actually just looks like good leadership. The network has stacked a few strong comedies (Modern Family, The Middle) with a decent selection of genre fare, even taking steps to replace its go-to science fiction mystery Lost with the enjoyable, if not revolutionary, Flashforward. ABC knows what it does best, so it avoids hard drama in favor of slicked-up pulp. Thus Castle, the V miniseries and some of its new offerings this spring.

Happy Town

One thing that ABC doesn't do very well is advertising. I can't help but snicker at every promo for the network's shows. No matter what the actual tone of the show is, its commercials on ABC make it look at best tongue-in-cheek and at worst unintentionally campy. That in mind, I've decided to take the promos for Happy Town with a grain of salt. There's so much to make this show attractive that one lowest common denominator ad shouldn't push people away from it. For one thing, ABC has taken measures to compare it to Twin Peaks. While I don't believe Happy Town is even going to come close to David Lynch's unique murder mystery, I appreciate that ABC is trying to set the tone as weird, ironic and even darkly satirical. Happy Town is about an inexplicably safe, friendly Minnesota hamlet called Haplin that experiences a rash of murders and kidnappings after five years without crime. Even before folks start going missing, the residents of Haplin are creepy in their ultra-homey disposition. While it may turn out to be nothing but a hokey mystery, the presence of actors like Sam Neill and Amy Acker make Happy Town a promising venture.

Romantically Challenged

So, here's my theory. Back in August '09 when the networks were cobbling together their 2009-2010 programming schedules, ABC was relying on a bunch of new, unproven shows. The executives had no idea that they had a hit comedy among other successes on its hands, so a safe rom-com starring Alyssa Milano probably seemed like a good idea at the time. They ordered a standard 13-episode midseason run and then November sweeps happened. By December, that bland sounding rom-com starring Alyssa Milano didn't look so appealing, so ABC cut the episode order to 7. Because the network already has enough successful programming to carry it through the spring, it doesn't really care if one of its weaker shows dies unnoticed. And make no mistake, that's what's happening to Romantically Challenged.

Aside from Flashforward's return in April and a late-spring sprouting for Wife Swap, possibly the worst reality show on television, ABC is pretty much set for the remainder of the season. They've been piling on Lost and Castle, two of their most successful properties, and things are looking grim for Better Off Ted, which may not even see its last two episodes aired. C'est la TV.