ABC's fall prospects

Yes, we all know what a mess ABC is in. Drew Carey is down, Millionaire may be out, Dharma & Greg and Spin City are waiting for the axe to swing -- you know the drill. But instead of immediately focusing on the negative, let's take a look at what's working. Monday Night Football is a given, NYPD Blue is holding up better than anyone probably expected, My Wife and Kids is promising and Sunday is -- thankfully -- not in disarray. Add time period Band-Aid America's Funniest Home Videos, marginal According to Jim and potential keeper Philly to the mix and that's the good -- err, pretty good -- on ABC.

Now it's time to face reality. Even if Millionaire returns after a summer hiatus the once killer game show is all but over. Although Monday Night Football has the male audience locked up in fourth quarter, 8 p.m. Monday is weak and the network will need to think about what to do in first quarter after football ends. The lead-off Tuesday hour must be fixed, Drew Carey is killing Wednesday from 9-10 p.m., 20/20 is off across-the-board, Friday is a veritable ghost town and the Saturday Movie is time period filler.

What to do? Well, as hard as it will be for ABC to pick up steam, patience and promotion -- lots of series promotion -- are the tools the network needs to get back on the map. Instead of scheduling shows and immediately pulling them (think The Chair, The Mole, What About Joan), ABC must choose the new series they believe in and let the audience eventually find them. And while you can't fault the network for giving a show like Once and Again three seasons to attract an audience, constantly moving it put the final nail in its coffin. If ABC can look past the erosion and find the right vehicles, patience and promotion might get them out of this hole. Of course, that's a big if.

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