With draftniks feeding their off-peak jones through the Houston Texans on Monday, it's an appropriate time to help television programming executives with their fall lineup of new shows. Check out this list of your favorite programs, which characters have been declared "unprotected," and which "new" shows have picked them up:
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Expansion in the entertainment industry
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TV comedy genre
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Show
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Unprotected
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Why
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"Sex & The City"
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Charlotte, Steve
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Charlotte's dialogue has been a little stilted lately; cap issues with Miranda's yappy pappy.
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"Friends"
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Monica, Gunther the Central Perk manager
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Monica lacks spice since her marriage to Chandler; Gunther anchors recurring –- yet secondary –- characters.
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"Everybody Loves Raymond"
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Robert Barone
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Like Tony Boselli, good enough to be main man for very weak team.
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"Malcolm in the Middle"
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Dewey
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Agent demanding a long-term deal, but he's losing his cuteness ("Sam-on-'Diff'rent-Strokes' " factor)
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Expansion show: "Everybody Loves Sex and the Friends in the Middle"
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TV drama genre
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"West Wing"
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Sam Seabourne
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Like Charlie Batch, he started strong, but of late has turned in laughable performances.
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"Law & Order"
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ADA Serena Southerlyn
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Merely following Dick Wolf's m.o. of regular cast turnover
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"Dawson's Creek"
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Grams
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Same reason as many left for Texans -- a little past her prime.
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"Touched by an Angel"
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Gloria (played by Valerie Bertinelli)
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The Made-For-TV-Movie Association called, and they want their talent back.
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"ER"
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Dr. Dave Malucci, Dr. Luka Korvac
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"Dr. Dave" muttering that he's strong enough to lead his own show, so who needs him; plus, who isn't tired of Luka's whole foreign too-cool-for-school routine?
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Expansion show: "Law & Order West: Touched by Dawson"
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News show genre
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"Dateline"
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Stone Phillips
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We hear he's a Rob Johnson-like salary-cap albatross.
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"48 Hours"
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Dan Rather
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Spread too thin with Evening News
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"The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer"
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Ray Suarez
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Oh, wait a sec –- we though you meant unprotected Bills safety Raion Hill.
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"60 Minutes"
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Andy Rooney
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Past his prime (as if you needed to ask!)
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Expansion show: "The NewsHour in 60 Minutes or 48 Hours"
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Reality TV genre
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"Fear Factor"
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The Playmates
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I mean, did you see the Super Bowl halftime thing? Shameless.
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"Project Greenlight"
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Line producer Pat Peach
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From the looks of the show, it seems like he's the Terrell Owens of the group.
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"Survivor"
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Host Jeff Probst
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Too interested in burgeoning career as film director, TV pitchman.
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"Big Brother"
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Entire concept
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Um, because it sucked.
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Expansion show: "Project Survive Big Fear"
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