Best Of 2008: Top 5 Riskiest Moves

By Julia Diddy
Fancast.com

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

There’s a fine line between jumping the shark, and perpetuating some visionary creative genius magic hoodoo in an effort to keep things interesting. Only hindsight can really determine which category the following moves will fall into:

1. William Petersen leaving CSI:

This could potentially prove to be as disastrous as, say, if Captain Stubing had disembarked the Love Boat. Yet somehow Petersen’s departure from CSI seems a little less risky now that we know Laurence Fishburne is swaggering onto the set as the pinch hitter. Had it been, say, Carrot Top or maybe Andy Dick up to bat…uh, definitely jumping the shark. But summoning Morpheus? Come on.

Lab technician: Check out these fibers I found beneath the fingernails of the victim! They’re really…

Morpheus: If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain…

Lab technician: It’s not an electrical signal…it’s an actual fiber – I have it right here…

Morpheus: Your mind makes it real…

Lab technician: Whaaa? No…look, right here - it’s a real fiber!

(Personally, I think CSI is about to get all kinds of interesting…)

2. The 5-Year Jump On Desperate Housewives:

Everybody sing along: “Let’s do the time warp again…”

Maybe they’re not jumping the shark here on Desperate Housewives. Jumping the time-space continuum is ambitious, and fairly intriguing. In case you’re out of the loop: last season’s cliffhanger involved a five year jump ahead, and provided some unexpected insights into what the future holds for those Wisteria Lane-dwelling dames:

Edie has a new fellow. Susan is a single – but swinging – mom. Bree is lucky in business…less lucky in love. Lynette has teenagers on her hands. Gabby has (GASP!) soccer mom hair! (Who saw that one coming?!)

Well, it’s one way to decimate a rut.

3. Project Runway Moving To Lifetime:

Now jumping networks…that’s a whole new can of worms.

As reported earlier, the Project Runway team had planned to abruptly “auf” its host Bravo, and strut the catwalk over to Lifetime Networks. The series wasn’t floundering in any sense – on the contrary, it was thriving…which is what made the proposed move so gutsy and unexpected. A whole slew of legal wrangling between Bravo and the Weinstein Company (which produces the series) has since stopped Runway in its stiletto-clad tracks. Sources now indicate that while filmed episodes are in the can for season six, it’s unclear when – or where – those episodes will be airing.

What to wear while idling in legal limbo? Is red tape the new black? Stay tuned…

4. American Idol Adding A Fourth Judge After Ratings Drop

Misery loves company, which is why Kara DioGuardi will now be choking on the cloud of dust and loathing that billows up whenever Simon and Paula, or Simon and Randy, or Randy and Paula, come to blows over what constitutes “talent.”

Declining ratings are a relative thing, of course…while American Idol has suffered a drop of sorts, it remains a top show. But in order to nip this decline in the bud, the show’s producers are also vowing to return to the roots of what made the series work so well in the first place. Which will make it a bit more challenging to determine whether an upswing in viewership will be the result of Ms. DioGuardi throwing her two-cents-worth into the fray, or if it will have more to do with the fact that the producers also plan to curb the Jerry Springer-esque antics of the audition episodes…

William Hung wannabes, you shall be missed. Er…not really.

5. NBC Setting Finale Date For Jay Leno’s Last Show

May 29, 2009: Leno - the only remaining living Tonight Show host following the passing of Johnny Carson – will officially hand over the reigns to Conan O’Brien. Possibly the least dramatic of the maneuvers on this list, given that the passing of the baton was basically announced several years ago, but it nonetheless marks the end of an era. Sort of. Rumors suggest that Leno may simply make a move to another show on another network. Conan O’Brien’s departure at Late Night will meanwhile be remedied by Jimmy Fallon, a Saturday Night Live alum who famously co-anchored the Weekend Update desk with Tina Fey.

So, to recap: Leno, who replaced Carson, will be replaced by O’Brien, who will be replaced by Fallon. Got it? Good.