Keeping track of TV isn't easy

Within a matter of hours earlier this week, I received the three following questions via e-mail:

• What has happened to the series "House"? I can't find it.

• Do you have any info on whether ABC plans to finish out the "Alias" television series?

• Please tell me what has happened to "Commander in Chief." Has it been canceled?

All perfectly legitimate questions that raise a bigger issue with network television — shows get bounced around the schedule so much it's darn near impossible to keep track of them. And I hear from viewers who, if one of their favorites is pre-empted one time, want to know if the show has been canceled.

It's not an unreasonable question. Shows appear and disappear without much notice — Fox canceled "Head Cases" after two episodes; the WB canceled "Just Legal" after three; ABC canceled "Night Stalker" after airing the first of a two-parter.

And, as has become the norm, the word "canceled" is never uttered by anyone at the network, leaving fans to cling to (false) hope.

Just this month, NBC announced it was bringing "Joey" back and then yanked it after one episode. Same thing with "Four Kings."

Is it any wonder viewers are confused?

For that matter, those of us who keep track of television for a living can't always do so. Heaven forbid I should be out of the office for a day or two — a network executive can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and pull a show off the air.

Just last month, after much ballyhoo about bringing "Commander In Chief" back to the schedule, the folks at ABC changed their minds, making my already-completed TV page obsolete.

I kid you not — there have been occasions when networks have e-mailed me schedule changes just hours before shows are scheduled to air that night and after your paper has already been delivered to you that morning.

Duh.

It's clear I'm not the only one caught unaware at times by network machinations, which leave viewers confused. And confusing viewers — ticking them off, for that matter — is not exactly the way to build a loyal audience for anything. It's more than a bit counter-productive.

Duh.

AND THE ANSWERS to those three questions mentioned earlier are: