Even TV writers make mistakes

Nobody's perfect, and that includes TV writers. Last fall, as we're doing this year, MSNBC.com previewed the year's new TV shows. We loved some, we took a wait-and-see attitude with many, and with others, we couldn't snap the set off fast enough.

Sometimes our critics and the public agreed completely. Other times, shows we loved bit the dust, while those we couldn't stand became hits. Now, a year after our previews, we're taking a look back and comparing our commentary against how the show played out in the public. Hindsight, after all, is always 20-20.

COMEDIES

We were right: "The Mullets"
Remember UPN's infamous comedy, "The Mullets"? Loni Anderson and John "J. Peterman" O'Hurley played parents to two mulletted doofuses (Michael Weaver and David Hornsby) who loved wrestling and Jerry Springer.

‘The Mullets’ fell out of fashion faster than their trademark hockey hair.

The show sounded horrid from the get-go, but the one flicker of hope was found in its writers, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein of “The Simpsons."

Sad to say, Dwayne and Denny Mullet were no Bart and Lisa. Although previewer Gael Fashingbauer Cooper admitted that the Mullet boys were "strangely affable," she also noted that the show was "likely to be quickly cancelled and end up alongside “Manimal” as one of the worst-but-most-descriptive TV show titles ever."

Done and done. "The Mullets" fell out of fashion faster than their trademark hockey hair.

We weren't sure: "Coupling"
NBC's American version of British hit "Coupling" was perhaps the most-awaited new comedy on last year's schedule. Fans of the BBC version were eager to find out if the comedy could jump the pond, hoping that the show's three men and three women could replace NBC's "Friends" in fans' hearts.

‘Coupling’ was uncoupled, and unceremoniously cancelled.

Previewer Michael E. Ross had high hopes, too. He asked: "Will 'Coupling' reveal the sometimes nervy imagination of its UK counterpart? Can this show break from the safe, formulaic approach that’s done in so many promising shows?" And then he hedged his bets with an answer of "Perhaps ... perhaps ... perhaps."

Fans, however, were more decisive. Their answer? No ... no ... no. "Coupling" was uncoupled, and unceremoniously cancelled.

We weren't sure: "Hope & Faith"
ABC's "Hope & Faith" set out to confuse viewers almost from the beginning. The character of Faith is not played by star Faith Ford ... she plays Hope. And Hope is played by Regis Philbin's talk-show pal Kelly Ripa. So it's really "Faith & Kelly," if you want to be particular about it.

Previewer Denise Hazlick liked the casting, saying "Ripa and Ford are both personable and perky — exactly what ABC was looking for, and audiences may be drawn to that." She wasn't as certain about the characters they played, noting that "the characters are locked into the good sister-bad sister stereotypes."

Apparently the charms of the two stars overwhelmed the simplicity of their roles, and "Hope & Faith" did well enough to earn a solid renewal.

We were wrong: "Two and a Half Men"
Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer's resumes couldn't be more different. Sheen is the hunky bad boy best known for "Wall Street" and his offscreen antics, while Cryer will forever be geeky Duckie Dale from "Pretty in Pink." Yet someone at CBS decided to put these two actors in a blender together with a cute kid (Angus T. Jones), ending up with comedy "Two and a Half Men."

Somebody out there must think the kid is pretty damn cute after all.

Previewer Gael Fashingbauer Cooper couldn't bring herself to drink from this well. "Sheen makes the best of what’s mostly dull material, Cryer whines a lot, and the kid is not as cute as he needs to be," she said.

Viewers, however, took to the show as if it was mother's milk. "Two and a Half Men" is one of only a few sitcoms, including "Everybody Loves Raymond," that makes regular appearances in the Nielsen Top 10. Its renewal for a second year was never in doubt. Somebody out there must think the kid is pretty damn cute after all.

DRAMAS

We weren't sure: "Cold Case"
CBS's "Cold Case" joined a long line of cop dramas, hoping to stand out by virtue of its concept — unraveling old mysteries — and its star, Kathryn Morris as Philadelphia detective Lilly Rush.

Previewer Lori Smith praised the show's camera tricks, used to morph characters between past and present, but she was less sure that an audience would warm up to "Cold Case."

While acknowledging the show had a smart concept, prime time slot and likeable star in Morris, she noted "Police procedurals live or die by the writing and this show needs the shock paddles, stat."

"Cold Case" must have gotten those shock paddles. The show regularly turns up in the Nielsen Top 20, and unlike another new show with a female lead, ABC's "Karen Sisco," it had no trouble getting renewed. Sounds pretty hot to us.

We were wrong: "Skin"
Remember "Skin"? When the FOX drama was first announced, there was much talk about just exactly how much of that skin would be shown. It also had a big name attached: "Skin's" producer was Jerry Bruckheimer, the man behind "CSI," "The Amazing Race," and about a million big-bucks shoot-em-up Hollywood blockbusters.

Don’t cry for Jerry Bruckheimer: He probably washed his hands of ‘Skin’ long ago.

The show's focus was on a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Irish-Latino Adam (D.J. Cotrona) and rich girl Jewel (Olivia Wilde), whose father was an adult-entertainment mogul. To get the Capulet-Montague war going, Adam's father was an aggressive district attorney out to prosecute the father of his son's new love.

Previewer Denise Hazlick let "Skin" get under hers, calling it a "visually sharp, fast-moving drama." She also had praise for the quick-moving plots and exciting camera work.

But the audience apparently found the show's beauty only "Skin" deep. It didn't last long. But don't cry for Bruckheimer. With movies, "Cold Case" (see above), two new seasons of "Amazing Race," and the highly touted "CSI: New York," he probably washed his hands of "Skin" long ago.

We were right: "10-8"
Apparently not everything Aaron Spelling touches turns to "Charlie's Angels." The mega-mogul with the monster mansion executive-produced "10-8," an ABC show that couldn't decide if it wanted to be a cop drama or a comedy.

The audience didn't think highly of the show either, and ‘10-8’ was soon 8-6ed.

Previewer Paige Newman didn't mince words, describing the dialogue as "clunky and predictable" and noting that the comedy bits "reeked of slapstick." She was especially down on the show's voiceover, done by lead character Rico Amonte (Danny Nucci), saying "not only do viewers have to watch the action, they also have to listen to Amonte explain it to them."

Newman apparently had a point. The audience didn't think highly of the show either, and "10-8" was soon 8-6ed.

We were wrong: "Tru Calling"
Fans of Eliza Dushku as slayer Faith on "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" were happy to see Dushku land her own series, FOX drama "Tru Calling."

Like "Buffy," Dushku's new show had more than a bit of a supernatural accent. Dushku was cast as Tru Davies, a plucky young woman with a tragic past and a secret: The corpses in the morgue where she works come alive and beg her to save them, so she goes back in time and does just that.

Previewer Lori Smith, a longtime "Buffy" fan, called Dushku "quite good," although she was a little skeptical of "Tru Calling's" elaborate plot contrivance. Although she warned that the writing needed improvement, she noted "not that the show’s bad, or even dull, it’s just not terribly engrossing."

Smith was more concerned that the show's timeslot, on Thursdays against CBS's "Survivor" and the final season of NBC's "Friends," would make "Tru Calling" D.O.A. She even went out on a limb, saying "it’s probably safe to say that Tru won’t be calling come December."

She was partially right: The show struggled to find an audience, despite some hardcore fans and decent reviews. With "Friends" not coming back for the 2004-2005 TV season, Fox decided to give "Tru" a call ... and a renewal.

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