Fall favorites

I asked readers in Tuesday's TV Talk which of the new fall shows were their favorites. A bunch of readers are ticked off that CBS cancelled "Threshold" (star Carla Gugino at right) and I've gotten a few votes for "Commander in Chief," too (which isn't cancelled, but is on hiatus until Jan. 10), and a couple for NBC's "Surface."

One reader asked the intelligent question, how do we know when a show is really cancelled? That's a tough one. The networks, as a rule, never, ever say when a show is canned. They're always "Move along, nothing to see here."

I used to have a dead pool and put chalk outlines around the new shows as they failed, but it seemed more than a little cruel. And, also, every once in a great while a show comes back from the dead, either because of an outpouring of fan support, or because the network just has nothing better to throw out there.

Don't hold your breath for "Threshold," I'm sorry to say.