Returning shows hope to shake up viewers

This fall season is like no other. Many returning shows are coming off hobbled seasons — or, in the case of "Heroes," half-seasons — thanks to the writers' strike.

With "Lost" and beloved but low-rated "Friday Night Lights" not coming back to regular television until midseason ("FNL" will be back sooner if you have DirectTV), what's in store for the rest of the more buzzed-about shows?

(Spoiler warning: If you don't want to know what might happen on returning shows, stop reading now.)

"The Office"
The strike seemed especially hard on the rhythm of "The Office." The NBC comedy is used to giving a careful, slow build to both its personal stories, such as the Jim/Pam and Michael/Jan relationships, and its business stories, including Ryan's transition from bored temp to corporate coke addict.

Chris Haston / © NBC Universal, Inc. Jan is pregnant! But Michael's not the father! Oh, "Office" life.

Fans will remember that Jim's attempt to propose to Pam was interrupted by Andy's very public proposal to Angela. Pam apparently headed off to a three-month stint at art school in New York without the question being popped. She'll still be there when the season opens, with Rich Sommer of "Mad Men" showing up as a classmate. As for Angela's engagement, how long can gossipy Phyllis be expected to keep quiet about catching Angela with Dwight?

Toby's departure left a spot open in HR, at least temporarily filled by Holly (Amy Ryan), with whom Michael became instantly infatuated. It appeared that Holly might not entirely reject him — but then he discovered that Jan had become pregnant via a sperm donor. Amy Ryan is reportedly on board for at least five episodes, so she's not fleeing Michael's clumsy affections quite yet. But Melora Hardin recently said that fans would get to see both the rest of Jan's pregnancy and how she fares as a mother, so Michael will likely continue to shoot himself in the foot labeled "Possible Relationship With Holly" using the gun labeled "Unhealthy Attachment To Jan."

"CSI"
Fans all know the big news: William Petersen, who has played Gil Grissom since "CSI" premiered in 2000, will depart after 10 episodes and effectively be replaced by the Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne.

Robert Voets / CBS Was this rubber chicken the final straw for William Petersen on "CSI"?

Fishburne, who reportedly had never watched "CSI" before being approached to join, will play a new character with roots in academia who succumbs to the obvious charms of splatter patterns and fiber analysis. Petersen and Fishburne will appear together in two episodes before Petersen hits the road.

"CSI" is also dealing with the departure of Gary Dourdan, who played Warrick Brown, shot by the wicked undersheriff in the season finale. (While the shooting was presented as a live-or-die cliffhanger, sort of, Dourdan's departure is one of the worst-kept secrets in television.) Jorja Fox, on the other hand, whose Sara Sidle bolted in late 2007, reportedly will be back — albeit briefly.

It should be a turning-point season for the show: Fishburne is a well-respected actor and producers say they wanted him desperately. But there's an open question about whether, like "Law & Order," "CSI" can withstand a lot of cast turnover or whether, like "The X-Files," too much investigator shuffle signals the beginning of the end.

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