Just like Wednesday, Tuesday is the tale of two seasons: the fall season and the winter season. Back last fall, CBS was riding high with the old stand-bys, "JAG" (27), "The Guardian" (37) and "Judging Amy" (30). Not to be outdone, ABC countered (and won in adults) with "8 Simple Rules" (47), "According To Jim" (53) and "NYPD Blue" (38), though "Life With Bonnie" (85) and "Less Than Perfect" (90) in the middle left alot to be desired, despite being the best one hour comedy block on tv (yes, that's my story and I'm sticking to it). NBC was solid at 9pm with "Frasier" (32), though all around it, "Just Shoot Me" (119), "The In Laws" (104), "Hidden Hills" (61) and "Dateline" (66) were weak at their very best, deadly at their worst. Fox was solid, but weak with "That 70s Show" (56), the rarely seen "Grounded For Life" (95) and a building "24" (35). The UPN slowly slid out of the game with "Buffy" (148) and "Haunted" (163), while the WB seemingly set a new record every week with "Gilmore Girls" (130) and "Smallville" (117). 
     Then, when "American Idol" premiered, everything changed. Suddenly it was Fox that blew the night away as "Idol" (4) fit nicely into the top 5 and "24" started climbing. That sent a bevy of new shows down the tubes. And they were, on ABC "The Family" (109) & "Lost At Home (98), and on NBC "Let's Make A Deal" (96), "AUSA" (89), "Watching Ellie" (86), "Kingpin" (87), while even vet "Frasier" failed to break 10mil viewers for new episodes in the spring. Over on the UPN, "Abby" (166) and "Platinum (165) died on the vine, while established series like "8 Simple Rules" and "According To Jim" suddenly looked weak.
      The lesson? Reality, but especially "American Idol," is king. And if you don't build a line-up with worthwhile series, people won't watch. Take note, NBC.