CBS' new lineup falls back on tradition

Blink once, then twice, then open your eyes: Anyone see huge changes on CBS' fall lineup, or is this déjà-2009-all-over-again? Or 1999? ('89? ... '79?)

Do the same little exercise with Fox, ABC and NBC and you quickly realize these are network schedules and shows the way they were: stable, safe, traditional, neat, uncluttered and a teeny bit dull. Fact is, networks have had enough with experimentation and change.

Much online noise was made yesterday about CBS' "dramatic" move to push "The Big Bang Theory" from Mondays to Thursday. In contrast to the other networks' moves, that was dramatic.

As for CBS, it picked up a Tom Selleck series about New York cops, as well as the William Shatner (seeing a trend here, reader?) series about a foul-mouthed father whose words of wisdom were rendered into tweets by his son. There's even a remake of "Hawaii Five-0" (now I know you can see a trend by now) starring Alex O'Loughlin.

Let's go to the lineup:

Monday

"How I Met Your Mother" (8 p.m.); "Rules of Engagement" (8:30); "Two and a Half Men" (9); "Mike & Molly," about a Chicago couple who meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting (9:30); "Hawaii Five-0," based on the classic, with O'Loughlin as Steve McGarrett and Scott Caan as Danny Williams (10).

Tuesday

"NCIS" (8); "NCIS LA" (9); "The Good Wife" (10).

Wednesday

"Survivor" (8); "Criminal Minds" (9); "The Defenders," dramedy with Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as two Las Vegas DAs (10).

Thursday

"The Big Bang Theory" (8); "$#*! My Dad Says," with Shatner, pronounced "Bleep My Dad Says" (8:30); "CSI" (9); "The Mentalist" (10).

Friday

"Medium" (8); "CSI: NY" (9); "Blue Bloods," "multigenerational" drama about NYPD cops and also starring Len Cariou, Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynahan, with Selleck as chief of police (10).

Saturday

"Crimetime" reruns (8); "48 Hours Mystery" (10)

Sunday

"60 Minutes" (7); "The Amazing Race" (8); "Undercover Boss" (9); "CSI: Miami" (10).