ABC's 'Alias' will get a lift from 'Lost'

ABC has made official what was utterly obvious to everyone who pays any attention to television — "Alias" won't be returning to its Sunday-night time slot in January, as the network had announced back in May.

C'mon, you didn't really think ABC would displace "Desperate Housewives," which has turned into a runaway hit on Sundays at 8 p.m.

Not that this is bad news for "Alias" fans. The show will indeed be back on the air in 2005, but on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. It's currently scheduled to premiere on Jan. 5.

At least the producer of "Alias" won't be able to complain about his lead-in. The show will follow ABC's other freshman hit, "Lost." And J.J. Abrams is the executive producer of both shows.

Actually, "Lost" might bring some more viewers to "Alias," which has never really done all that well in the ratings. If it can't break out of it's sort-of cult status this season, there probably won't be a next season for the show.

Following the two-hour premiere on Jan. 5, the plan is to turn the show without repeats, and with only limited pre-emptions through the end of the season in May.

Which is also a good thing for "Alias," which has lost momentum in past seasons when it went as long as five weeks between original episodes.

MONDAY NIGHT REALITY: With "Alias" taking over the Wednesday-at-8 p.m. time slot, ABC is shifting "The Bachelor" — or, in this case, "The Bachelorette" — to Monday nights in January for what will be an entire evening of reality programming.

What, do they think they're Fox or something?

Anyway, as of Jan. 10, ABC will lead off Mondays with the show with the most unwieldy title on TV — "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: How'd They Do That?" (It should be against the law for any TV show to have more than one colon in its title.) It will be a behind-the-scenes look at the previous night's edition of the monster hit "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Then we'll get "The Bachelorette" at 8 p.m., featuring Jen Schefft. (For those of you with lives, who haven't kept up with this, Schefft was chosen by "Bachelor" Andrew Firestone, but their engagement crumbled and now she's looking for love again on network TV. Some people never learn.)

And then, beginning Jan. 17 at 9 p.m., we'll get "Supernanny," the Americanization of a British series about a Mary Poppins-type who comes to the rescue of parents needing help with their kids.

ABC licensed the British show; Fox simply, um, "borrowed" the idea for its series "Nanny 911."

SITCOM PICKUPS: ABC, which has had a lot of success with two new hourlong shows, "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," has had some success with a couple of new half-hours as well. Which is why the network has renewed both "Rodney" and "Complete Savages" through the end of this season.

"Rodney" is certainly likable and has plenty of potential. "Savages" is simply annoying and lame, but that's not necessarily an impediment to success on network TV. Unfortunately.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com