
Shows like Doctor Who and Quantum Leap are entirely based on the premise that they send their lead characters all throughout various points in time. Terra Nova isn't jumping all over the place, but instead just sends a handful of people 85 million years back, in some sort of alternate timeline, in order to save a few members of mankind. While they seemingly can't save the folks in our existence who can't see the sun, or breathe on their own or eat oranges or have more than two children without getting arrested, they do have a plan on saving humans as a race by sending them through a portal back 85 million years to create a new society. Or something. We're a little fuzzy on the details.

A ton of shows were cancelled this season, many of which deserved to go. But although we may not have shed tears over the programs themselves, there's quite a few specific elements that we're going to miss.

We're still shocked that Whitney got renewed, but most of the cancellations this season made sense. While we would have gladly watched another season of A Gifted Man and our moms would have loved more of The Finder, we're having a hard time getting really upset about any of the axings this year (except for maybe Best Friends Forever, which had more potential than Whitney). In fact, there are certain shows we're downright excited to see disappear from the TV schedule. Here's the ones we'll miss the least:

Don't let the dinos bite you on the way out, Shannon family! Actually, on second thought...

The sweeping fairytale romance between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries officially ended last Monday, and we're heartbroken because it seemed like they were in it for the long haul. We're kidding, of course -- like most sane onlookers, we assumed the two were in a sham relationship orchestrated to generate media coverage and further her fame. But as cacophonous as the frenzy over their nuptials (and now split) was, we thought we could at least escape it by losing ourselves in our favorite scripted shows -- except for the fact that TV is filled with its share of equally unbelievable pairings. Here are the ones we really can't believe in:

With fall TV in full swing, there are already shows getting cancelled, others getting full-season pickups and still more returning shows that could use a little help. While some programs have problems that could take an entire year to repair (see: House), these other series just need some quick fixes that would make them exponentially more entertaining almost immediately.

We're anxiously waiting for new cable shows American Horror Story and Hell on Wheels, but since we haven't screened them yet, we have to withhold our final judgment (if nothing else, we're hoping Hell fills the Deadwood-shaped hole in our hearts). And while The X Factor will likely be insanely popular, we can't say that it will actually be good (not that it matters; we'll watch every minute). But we have seen the pilots for virtually every scripted show coming to broadcast TV this fall, and judging by their first episodes, we can confidently recommend setting your DVRs for these ten at the very least:

This past week, each of the broadcast networks unveiled their fall and midseason lineups at their annual upfront presentations for advertisers and media. While a bunch of the new shows look like they could be dead on arrival, and none totally blew us away, there were a handful of programs that we're definitely already excited about. Here's our early picks for what might be worth watching this fall and next winter/spring.

Fox's 2010-11 upfront presentation was a bit shorter than NBC's earlier today, but still just as tediously dull. After parading out the Fox talent and then letting Hugh Laurie act all appreciative, two bigwigs talked a lot about how people still watch TV and not just on the computer (yes, because couches are more comfortable than computer chairs). We were shown charts and graphs and heard talk of something called a "purchase funnel." Seriously dizzying. The event didn't really get interesting until Jane Lynch came out as Sue Sylvester and started making fun of Fox president of entertainment Kevin Reilly by poking fun at his weatherman looks and hair: "Last time I saw something that sweet and sticky it came with a free coffee and had jelly inside." After all that, it turned out that the network didn't have much new to show us... at least not for the fall (check the full calendar here). Still, some of what we did get to see definitely had promise.